


Accidents Happen For a Reason

by Hashtagmavin



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-06
Updated: 2013-10-06
Packaged: 2017-12-28 13:38:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 54,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/992610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hashtagmavin/pseuds/Hashtagmavin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Michael never expected his day to get any worse than it already had. Breaking your bosses daughter’s arm is never a good way to start a day. Then again meeting an overly happy British asshole in the hospital waiting room isn't a very good way to end it either.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Hashtagmavin.tumblr.com on May 13 2013

Geoff was going to kill me.

It all started when I’d volunteered for the task of leaving work to go pick up my bosses daughter from school.

Geoff had originally been given the task by his wife Griffon. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem, but he was late for an important meeting. So  _I_ volunteered to pick up his eight year old daughter, Rosie.

Long story short, I’d been in a pissy mood, and I figured that leaving the office to pick up Rosie could cheer me up at least a little bit.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

 

I pull up to the school next to Rosie, who is standing there on the sidewalk with a bright purple dress on, and her dark brown hair pulled back into two pigtails.

"Hey, Rosie!" I call out to her, forcing myself to be cheerful.

Although I  _am_  pretty thankful that I’m not still at the office, editing the Minecraft Let’s Play. It’s been a long day so far.

"Hi, Mikey!" She beams, hopping into the backseat and adjusting her bright pink backpack on her lap. She quickly pulled out a folded piece of purple construction paper. "Guess what I made in school today!"

I put my fingers on my chin in a playful attempt to wonder what she had drawn. “Hmmm…A unicorn?” I guess.

"Nope! Strike one!"

Damn. Only two more guesses. “A dinosaur?”

"Nu-uh!" She shakes her head violently. "One guess left!"

"Uh…" I consider my options for this last guess. Then I realize that I may be taking this way too seriously. Maybe I’ve been stuck in the office for too long and finally went stir crazy. "Is it a-"

"I’ll give you a hint!" She says, seemingly desperate for me to guess correctly.

"Okay, thanks! I was pretty concerned there for a moment." I smile at her. Rosie’s awesome kid, and she seems pretty pumped that I’m taking her little game so seriously.

I finally turn the car back on, and begin to drive away from the school. “It’s from a video game that you, daddy, and the rest of the boys at the office like to play!”

That doesn’t narrow down the options very much. We play a lot of games. But I try to think of the ones that Rosie would be familiar enough with to draw.

"Is it from Minecraft?" I question, knowing that it’s one of her favourites.

A huge grin spreads across her face. “Yes!”

"Is it a creeper?"

"Yeah!" she cheers loudly, "Look at it!"

Thankfully we pull up to a red light few moments after I guess the right answered, so I was able to turn around in my seat to look. She unfolds the paper and holds up the drawing to show me.

It was a lot better than I expected. It actually has little squares that are all different shades of green, and she has the face drawn pretty accurately. She even has little red roses drawn at it’s feet. I’m sure Ray would love it for that reason alone.

"Holy shit! Good job, Rose!" I praise her. Then mentally scold myself for cursing in front of her. She doesn’t seem too fazed by it though, and just gives a happy and heartfelt thanks.

While driving I continue to ask her about her day at school, and she gushes about drawing her creeper in art. I’m not looking forward to going back to the office, so listening to Rosie talk is amusing enough to distract me from the thoughts of spending the rest of my day there.

What else will I be doing today? Finish editing the Let’s Play, record a new one, record a new AHWU, and then probably edit something else? Goddammit.

While talking about a girl named Emily that she sat next to class, Rosie suddenly stops and lets out a high pitched shriek.

I jump in my seat and look at her huge grin in the rear view mirror, which reassures me that she’s fine. But I roll my eyes at her yelling. Kids get  _way_  to excited about things sometimes.

"Can we please, please,  _please_  go to the playground!” She begs, putting her hands together in a praying type motion. I look out my left window and see that we are indeed passing a children’s playground.

I slow down a little bit, considering it. Stopping at the playground means not having to go to the office so soon. “Okay, but only for a few minutes!”

The young girl’s cheering starts once again.

*

When Rosie jumped out of the car and shouted to me that she was going to make it all the way across the monkey bars, jokingly calling back to her “break a leg!” probably wasn’t the best response.

"Mikey! It hurts really bad!" Rosie sobs as she clutches her arm to her chest, and tears stream down her face.

 _At least it wasn’t her leg_ , I think to myself dryly. But now is no time for humour, Rosie might be seriously injured.

"I don’t think it’s broken, it might just be sprained." I say to her, observing her arm, and praying that I’m right. I carry her back to the car and place her in the back seat again, making sure to be careful of her injured arm.

"Do I need to go to the hospital?" She asks.

Sometimes Rosie can be a lot smarter than me. I haven’t even considered the hospital. Taking her there first could be much more beneficial to me. If she does end up having a broken bone, taking her back with a cast on is a lot better than taking her back with a broken and untreated arm. But then again, I’m still screwed either way, and Geoff is going to rip me a new one regardless.

"Yeah, that may be for the best." I mutter, and help her put on her seat belt. "You going to be okay?"

"It hurts a lot, Michael…" She whimpers, but then slowly puts on a brave look, "But I should be able to handle it until we get to the doctors."

"You’re a pretty tough kid!" I grin, while ruffling her hair, which earns me a smile from her.

I’m a terrible babysitter.

*

Attempting to keep my cool at the hospital was a lot harder than I originally thought. The annoying secretary was starting to piss me off, and I knew I couldn’t start screaming profanities at her with Rosie right there.

"Please fill out this form, and we’ll get to her as soon as we can, sir." She says to me, with a bored look in her eyes. "We’re very busy today."

There’s literally only three other people in the waiting room, but I decide to just be civil and do what she says. Getting into a fight with the hospital staff isn’t going to change how horrible this day is.

We finally turn back to the waiting room and sit down in an empty row of seats, and begin to fill out the form. I already know all of the answers anyways, but asking her the questions might keep her mind off of the pain in her arm. I ask her all of the ones that aren’t related to her injury, then make some up when I run out.

"Full name?"

"Rosie Ramsey." She responds.

"Age?"

"Eight."

"Favourite animal?"

She giggles, “That’s not on there, Mikey!”

I grin, “Of course it is! Now answer.”

"Giraffes." 

I pretend to write it, then continue to ask her pointless questions that aren’t on the paper. It seems to help, and it even makes her laugh when I ask her outrageous ones.

I’d just finished filling it out when my cell-phone rings. I have to bite back a curse when I see the name “Geoff” flash across the screen.

"Is that Dad calling you?" She asks, peeking at my phone.

"Yeah, I’m going to go into the other room to talk to him, okay? You’ll be alright out here?" I question, while standing up.

"I’ll be fine." She smiles, and turns her attention to the TV in the corner, that has some kind of stupid kids show playing.

I answer my phone, and brace myself for a lashing. Regardless of the fact that myself and Geoff are good friends, he’s still my boss. Breaking his daughters arm will not go over well with him.

"Where the hell is my daughter, you prick!? You’ve been gone for a half hour!" Geoff’s voice rings through my phone.

"Calm down, I have Rosie here with me and she’s fine…" I trail off, and then add a quiet, "More or less."

I give the form to the secretary, holding back the urge to glare at her, and quickly make my way to the second waiting room. Thankfully it’s empty.

This hospital is pretty old fashioned looking. All the chairs are the same green leathery material. The walls, floor, and ceiling are all white and it hurts my eyes to look at them for to long. Can’t they at least put up some pictures on the walls?

"What the fuck do you mean more or less!?" Geoff screams at me. I move the phone away from my ear for a few seconds, until I judge that it’s safe to move back.

"We’re at the hospital." Giving him calm and straight forward answers might keep me out of trouble for a little while.

It appears to work, since I hear Geoff take a long and loud sigh/groan. “Just tell me what happened, dude.” He whines, with a frustrated and exasperated tone.

I begin to tell him the shortened version of the story. “Rosie wanted to go to the playground for a few minutes so I let her, and while she was going across the monkey bars she fell and I think she might have sprained her arm or something. Don’t worry though, we should be out of here soon, so there’s not really any need for you to drive all the way up here.”

"I give you one fucking job, dude. One fucking job! And you manage to fuck it up in the form of my daughters arm!" He mutters.

"Don’t blame me, Geoff!" I yell, "I’m just as pissed as you are! Hospitals suck dick!" Honestly I was more worried about Griffon wanting to kick my ass than Geoff. She could be pretty brutal when she wanted to be.

"Okay, let’s just calm down. I know it’s been a horrible day for you." Geoff states. Listening to him attempt to be calm and reasonable lifts a huge weight off of my shoulders. Maybe Geoff won’t kick my ass when I get back to the office. "I’m going to go tell Griffon. I’m more concerned about her arm than I am about murdering you. We’ll beat your face in once you make it back here with my daughter in one piece."

Nevermind.

"Thanks, Geoff." I mutter, saracastically.

"You’re a real son of a bitch, you know that, right?"

"Don’t be an asshole. I’ll have Rosie back safe and sound as soon as I can, okay?"

"That’s all I ask." Geoff says, and hangs up.

I feel grateful to work at a company where I can call my boss an asshole and not get fired for it. But then again, I also work at a company where he and his wife can beat the shit out of me and nobody will bat an eye.

I put my phone back into my pocket angrily. The highlight of my day so far has been seeing Rosie’s creeper drawing.

I remember that I left her in the main waiting room all by herself. Even though I’m pretty sure that she can’t injure herself while in a hospital, I don’t want to take any risks after that phone call with Geoff.

Why does life have to be one huge cock sucking headache?

I walk back into the room and see Rosie sitting where I’d left her, perfectly fine. But not by herself.

"Rosie?" I yell out to her. Both she and the man sitting next to her stop talking and looked up to see me.

He looked to be around my age. He had an attractive face, pale skin, a large nose, and messy light brown hair that stuck up in all different directions. It looked as though he’d just crawled out of bed and said “fuck it”. I also noticed that he was wearing tight black jeans, and a green t-shirt that had a creeper face on it.

Who the fuck is this guy? I didn’t realize that stranger danger could happen in the middle of a fucking hospital.

"Hi, Michael! Is daddy mad?" Rosie greets my return.

"Nah, It’ll be fine." I say to her, not really paying attention since I’m too busy glaring at the guy sitting next to her. "Who the hell are you?" I ask him.

"I’m Gavin! Nice to meet you!" He states, cheerfully. He has a thick British accent, and I can’t help but think about how attractive it is. Fuck, I need to keep my mind on more important matters.

"Why are you randomly talking to little girls that you don’t know? That’s creepy as hell, dude!" I basically shout at him.

"Don’t be mad at Gavvy! See his shirt? He likes Minecraft just like us!" She says, with a huge smile stretched across her face. She turns back to him and starts talking again, "Michael and my daddy play that game all the time with a bunch of their friends, and a bunch of people on the internet watch because they’re  _really_ funny.”

"Wait a second! Who is this guy!? What the hell makes you think you can just hang around with any little kids you find?" I demand from him.

He doesn’t take any offense to it and just smirks, as though he’s amused at my anger. “Don’t worry, lad. I just saw little Rosie sitting down here by herself and decided to give her some company. I can leave if you want me to.” He says.

"No, Gavvy! Please stay!" Rosie begs, and even grabs his arm as if she’s going to force him to stay. "Gavin’s really nice, Michael! He’s my friend!"

"Looks like I’m staying," he grins at me, cheekily. I give an angry sigh. This British asshole is just the icing on the cake for such a shitty day.

"Fine. Whatever! I don’t care anymore. We’ll be out of here soon anyways." I mutter, and sit down between the two of them. I’m one hundred percent sure that letting Rosie talk to strangers won’t get me back into Geoff’s good graces.

She gasps as an idea strikes her, “Do you want to see my creeper picture I drew in school today!?”

"Yeah, that sounds top!" Gavin grins. I continue to glare at him, but he just smiles as though being a prick is the highlight of his day.

"My bookbag is in your car, Michael! Can you go get it?" She asks.

"I don’t think I should leave you alone with a stranger, Rosie…" I trail off. I have to be atleast a little responsible. Letting this douchebag hang around with us is already bad enough.

"But Gavin’s not a stranger!" She argues.

"Yes he is! You literally met him less than five minutes ago!" I argue.

Rosie scrunches up her nose and eyebrows, and prepares to yell at me. She’s just a stubborn as Geoff sometimes. “Don’t be mean, Michael! You and Gavin can be friends too, you’re just too rude!”

"Yeah, Michael!" Gavin adds, but with his accident it sounds more like ‘mi-cool’. I look away from Rosie to give him the hardest glare I can muster. I only relent when I see his smile fade and a worried look spreads across his face. "Okay, okay! I’m sorry! Why don’t I just go out to the car  _with you_  to get her bookbag. Barbara can easily watch Rosie.”

Watching him feel apologetic for being such an asshole brightens up my mood the tiniest bit. That doesn’t mean that I forgive him though. “Who the fuck is Barbara ” I ask. I don’t even care enough to monitor my language now.

He stops looking so apologetic and grins, “She’s the receptionist!” And points to a young woman talking to an older man in the corner.

She looked up at the sound of her name and walked over to us after saying a few words of goodbye to the old man. She’s a really attractive woman with long blonde hair and a pretty face. “For the last time, Gavin, I’m a nurse.” She smiles at him.

"Receptionist. Nurse. Same thing." He grins, while waving it off.

"Oh yeah, a receptionist? Is that who stands next to the doctor during the operations?" She asks.

"Close enough! Can you watch Rosie while Michael and I go out to his car and get something?"

"Yeah sure, but please don’t stray too far from the hospital! I really don’t want a repeat of last time." She pleads.

"Don’t worry, we’re just going to his car and then we’ll be coming straight back." He reassures her, and gives her a cute puppy dog pout look. "I really want to see Rosie’s creeper drawing!"

"Yeah, Barbara  Please!" Rosie joins in, giving her the same look. When the nurse looks at their adorable pleading face, she can’t help but say yes.

"Go on then!" She says, but is grinning at the same time. We both stand up, and she sits down where Gavin previously sat. She and Rosie begin to talk happily, as though they’ve known each other for years. Apparently that kid can makes friends  _fast_.

We walk through the waiting room, and Gavin gives a wave at the secretary. She gives him a bored wave back, before glaring at me. I’m about to glare back but Gavin steals my attention.

"So, Michael!" He grins at me, as we leave through the main hospital doors. "Let’s go on an adventure to get a creeper drawing!"

"Don’t make me hit you." I threaten.

I’m thankful though, because now I can tell off this asshole without Rosie around to scold me.


	2. Chapter 2

"Okay, you prick." I state, getting to the point right away.

The smile doesn’t leave his face, but he lets out an amused sigh, almost as if to say ‘Alright, I guess the jig is up.’ “Fine, I’m sure you just want to yell at me, so go ahead.”

I take his advice. “Who the fuck do you think you are, you fucking prick!? I’m already having a shitty enough day, and now you’re going to prance in here and turn Rosie against me? Go fuck yourself, dude! You’re a fucking piece of shit!”

 

He doesn’t take my insults seriously, and just grins at me in response. I hate to admit that his smile is contagious, and I can’t help but smirk at him.

When he sees me attempt to hide my smile, he lets out a laugh, and I can’t help but chuckle back. He has a nice laugh. God, that sounded so gay. I hate myself for now being stuck between thinking this guy is a major asshole, and that he’s cute. Now’s not the time to let my dick overpower my annoyance.

"Who the fuck are you?" I ask again, feeling more content with his presence.

"Gavin Free."

"Why were you talking to Rosie? You do realize that going up to young children that you don’t know, and talking to them, is  _not_  okay.” I continue.

He sighs, “Okay, I know that it honestly looked pretty bad from your viewpoint, but I swear I just saw her sitting by herself and decided to give her some company. I do that a lot with the people around the hospital. It’s fun to listen to their stories and stuff. Once, this guy had this really infected rash on his-” I cut him off immediantly.

"You talk  _way_  to much. About pointless shit.”

"And  _you_  swear a lot.” He points out.

"Shut the fuck up, Gavin!" I’m back to being pissed off.

"Okay, so you know my full name, what’s yours?"

"Michael Jones."

"Simple. I like it."

"Are you really interested in seeing Rosie’s creeper drawing?" I ask him. I realize that we haven’t been moving towards my car, we’ve just been standing outside the hospital entrance talking. I begin to walk towards where I know my vehicle is parked, and Gavin walks along besides me.

"Of course! It’s like a combination of my two favourite things, kid’s drawings and Minecraft." He answers thoughtfully. I didn’t think this guy could  _get_  any weirder.

I’m pretty thankful when we reach our destination, and I pull out Rosie’s bright pink bookbag after unlocking the door. I quickly unzip it and pull out the drawing, which is folded up into a neat square.

"Here." I pass it to Gavin, who doesn’t reach out to take it. "Take it, asshole!"

"No! I don’t want to see it yet." He argues.

"Why not? Who cares?"

"I don’t like spoilers." He smiles, as I lock the car door. "I want her to show it to me."

"You’re such an idiot."

"Michael!" He whines at my insult.

"Mi-cool!" I mock his butchered version of my name, adding a horrible impression of his British accent. He gives me a fake pout.

"So, do you live here in Austin?" He asks, moving on from my teasing rather quickly.

“ _Really_? You  _really_  want to have an actual conversation?” We seriously just met about ten minutes ago, and for about 9 and a half of those minutes I’ve hated him with a burning passion.

"Why not?" He shrugs, "You seem like a pretty cool guy. And we’re friends, right?"

"Are we, Gavin? Are we  _really_?”

"Of course! Look, we’ve almost completed our first adventure together!" He gestures to the paper in my hand. This guy is like a never ending ball of energy and happiness.

I look at him, and just give a small grunt in response. This causes him to look at me with a  _slightly_ worried expression. “Come on, Michael. You’re not still mad at me for picking on you in the hospital, are you?”

I’m not  _really_  mad at him anymore. That “Micheal ‘Rage-Quit’ Jones” part of me just takes over sometimes. Plus, this shitty day isn’t helping much. I hate to admit it, but he’s actually a pretty alright guy, even if he is a major pain in the ass. I don’t give him the satisfaction of a response though, and just continue to look straight ahead as we walk.

"Okay, fine! I’m sorry for being a total minge to you." What the hell is a minge? "Why don’t we just start over?"

What do I possibly have to lose at this point? I give a reluctant sigh and turn to him. “Fine. We’ll start over.”

My insides go warm and fuzzy as I see a bright smile spread across his face. It reminds me of that feeling I got when I first started at Roosterteeth, and I was kind of freaked out that the fans wouldn’t like me. But I shouldn’t be feeling like this right now. I don’t give two shits if Gavin doesn’t like me.

"Hi! I’m Gavin Free!" He smiles, and is about to put out his hand for me to shake.

I roll my eyes. “Don’t do that.”

*

"Mikey! Gavvy!" Rosie yells excitedly as soon as we step foot into the waiting room. Barbara turns around to look at us, and I see her and Gavin share a look, as though they’re secretly communicating. He sits down on the younger girl’s right side, while Barbara is sitting on the left of her.

"Get in any trouble, Gav?" She asks him, attempting to sound nonchalant.

"Not a bit." He responds with a cocky but joking smile. They don’t look like they’re related, but they sure as hell act like they’re competitive siblings fighting for their mothers attention. He turns to face Rosie, "Now, enough talking to Blondie. I want to see this creeper!"

Barbara sticks her tongue out at Gavin childishly, and he returns the look. I roll my eyes and give Rosie the paper before sitting down next to Gavin.

Barbara unfolds it for her and holds it out so that all of us can see it. Gavin lets out a gasp, and yells out “That looks bloody top! You must have worked so hard on that!”

"I did! See the shading on his arm there?" She asks, pointing out different parts of the drawing with her good arm. I don’t see any shading or actual artistic techniques, but Gavin nods crazily and points out everything he likes about it at top speed.

It’s hard to process that we’ve seriously only  _just_ met this guy. He talks and acts as though we’ve known him for years. He’s like the king of charm and friendship. No wonder he and Rosie became such fast friends.

The large door across the room from us opens and a nurse walks through. She’s holding a clipboard and is wearing the same clothes as Barbara  “Rosalie Ramsey?” she calls out, while looking through the few people in the room.

"Present!" Rosie calls out, innocently, while raising her good arm as though she’s in school.

Once the nurse notices how young she is, a warm smile crosses her face. “It’s time for the doctor to see you, sweetie.”

I immediantly notice Rosie tense up. “I don’t wanna go…”

"Don’t worry, Rosie! If you want we can go in with you." Barbara says to her, smoothing down her hair softly.

"Can  _you_  go in with me, Barbara?” She asks, her voice very quiet.

I feel like absolute shit for being the reason she has to go to the doctor in the first place. I shouldn’t have let her go to the playground. I’m such an idiot.

"Of course! Gavin and Michael can wait outside the room for us, and it’ll all be over before you know it. And do you want to know a secret?" She leans in close to the young girl, whispering.

"Yeah!"

"Maybe Michael will take you out to get some ice-cream if you’re a really good girl in there." She grins.

_What!?_

Rosie’s eyes go wide, and any concerned or scared look has been wiped off of her face completely. “Ice-cream!? Really, Michael!?” She yells, with a huge excited smile on her face.

I have no idea how to respond. “But I never…” Barbara gives me a glare, and I realize I have no choice but to back down. Goddamn it. “Of course, Rose.”

"What are we waiting for then!?" Gavin yells. I’m sure he realizes that Rosie could change her mind, so it’s crucial to get her in there as fast as possible.

She stands up and we’re all about to walk through the door when Rosie stops. “Will it hurt, Gavin?”

"I don’t think so. The doctors here are super nice, and they’ll treat you like the little princess you are, Rosie!" Gavin grins down at her. Hearing his words of encouragement perks up her attitude once again, and she interlocks my fingers with her good hand.

We begin walking, Barbara in front of us, leading the way to the correct room. “Michael?” Rosie asks.

"Yeah?"

"Are you and Gavin going to fight while you wait for me?"

"Of course not!" Gavin interjects, "Michael and I are friends, we’d never fight."

I glare at him, but don’t say anything.

"Okay, sweetie. Michael and Gavin will wait out here, and we’ll go in together." Barbara says to the young girl, who just nods in response. Rosie waves at us, with a nervous yet determined look on her face.

"Bye, Rosie! Good luck!" Gavin cheers loudly. One of the doctors walking by gives him a dirty look for being so loud. "Oh, sorry, lad!" He shouts to the doctor.

I scoff. This guy  _never_  shuts up.

"Rosie’s a cool kid." He muses. "That reminds me, how do you know her? Are you her brother? You’re way to young to be her father."

"She’s my bosses daughter."

"So, why are  _you_  bringing her to the hospital?”

I let out an angry breath at his nosy questions, “Because, asshole, I took her to the playground after picking her up from school and she messed up her arm.”

"Good job." He smirks, "That’s some top notch babysitting right there."

"Shut the fuck up." I mutter. "I didn’t mean for her to get her arm broken. Geoff’s probably going to kill me once I get back to the office."

"So, Geoff is your boss and Rosie’s dad?"

"Yeah."

"Do you guys really play Minecraft for a living?" He questions, while he sits down against the wall with his knees pulled to his chest. I have no idea how long we’ll be here waiting, so I decide to sit down as well.

"We play all kinds of video games, and film it. Then we put it up online and people watch it and shit." I respond. He nods, and I can tell by the look on his face that he’s genuinely interested. I shake my head to snap myself out of it. "Why the fuck am I telling you all of this?"

"Because I asked."

"Yeah, thanks, asshole." I growl, sarcastically. " _Why_  did you ask?”

"I told you before, didn’t I? People in hospitals usually have the best stories. It’s fun to just listen to them sometimes." He muses, and looks at something in the distance as though he’s reminiscing  His attention focuses back to me though, "And I could tell that  _you’re_ having a pretty rotten day, as soon as I saw you stomp into the waiting room.”

"I did not  _stomp_.” I mutter.

"Yes you did." He grins.

"Okay, fine. You got to ask  _me_  a million questions, why don’t I start asking you some.” I challenge.

He shrugs, “Go ahead.”

"Who’s that girl Barbara " I question. It’s pretty lame for the first one, but it has been something I’ve been curious about.

"She’s a nurse." He responds, with a confused look.

"No, I mean…How do you know her so well?"

"Oh, I’ve know Barbara for years now. I knew her when she was still training to be a nurse."

"Are you guys close?"

"Yeah, of course."

That didn’t really give me the answer I was searching for. “…How close?”

Gavin’s eyebrows scrunch together in confusion. “What do you mean?”

I don’t give him an answer, and instead just raise an eyebrow at him. He seriously doesn’t understand what I’m trying to ask. A few moments pass, where he’s studying my face, trying to make sense out of my question.

"Oh!" A look of realization crosses his face, his eyes widen, and he looks slightly disgusted or uncomfortable. "No! Barbara and I are  _just_ friends. Best friends. She’s like a bloody sister to me!”

"Ah." I say, and nod slowly. "How old are you?"

"I’m twenty four. You?"

"Twenty five. What do you do for a living?"

He shrugs his shoulders. “Nothing. Money’s not really an issue for me. I used to live in England, but moved to America with my parents when I was eighteen because there was some kind of  _amazing_  job opportunity for them here or something. It’s all a load of bullocks to me.”

"So, you don’t like it here? Even after six years?"

"It’s alright, but the hospital in my home town is much better." He smirks.

It suddenly hits me that I haven’t asked him the one question that’s been buzzing around my head since I’d first met him. “Why are you even at the hospital in the first place!?”

He’s quiet for a moment, before saying, “My grandfather’s deathly ill. We’re pretty close and he’s been sick practically my whole life. So he lives here at the hospital, and I come to visit him a lot.”

He doesn’t look at me as he says it, and I notice that the air goes tense. “Sorry, dude… I wouldn’t have brought it up if I knew.”

"No worries, lad." He turns to me with an optimistic smile, and I feel the tension rise away.

I feel like there may be more to that story than he’s telling me, but it’s obviously a sore subject for him. So I decide to drop it.

We continue on talking for about ten minutes, just asking each other dumb questions and laughing at each other. I hate to admit it, but I’m actually having a good time. Cracking jokes with Gavin might be one of the only positives this day has brought forth so far. I found out that he loves things like slomotion, science, and video games. He also comes up with crazy idiotic theories that make no sense at all.

"You’re a fucking idiot!" I yell at him, while laughing my ass off.

"I am not! If you’re legs didn’t know they were legs, they’d probably stop working entirely!" He argues, but he has a huge grin on his face as he tries to make sense of his original question. "I mean, if you were a leg, and then found out about it, would you keep doing your job as a leg!?"

"Legs can’t think, you moron! They’re legs!" I shake my head in amusement. "How is it physically possible for one person to be so dumb?"

"Michael, don’t be mean!" He laughs.

A loud creaking noise is heard beside me, and we turn to see Rosie and Barbara leaving the doctors room. “Good as new!” the blonde nurse announces. Rosie’s arm is wrapped up and has a pink sling keeping it to her chest. “It’s not broken or sprained, but it’s really badly bruised. Just make sure she keeps the sling on for a few days and she should be fine.”

"Thank, God." I mutter. Geoff might not kill me so painfully now.

Barbara hands me a slip of paper. “Here, give this to her parents. Just in case she does experience any pain.” It’s a prescription  I don’t take any time to read it, and just put it into my pocket.

"Thanks." I nod at her. She gives a friendly smile in response, then says her goodbyes before walking back into the doctors office and closing the door. "See, Rosie?" I smile down at her, "It wasn’t scary, was it?"

"Nope! And now I get ice-cream!" She grins, with excitement shining in her eyes.

"Goddamn it. Fine, let’s go get you some ice-cream." I sigh. If I don’t take her, I’ll probably never hear the end of it. Besides, it’s the least I can do for messing her arm up.

Rosie cheers excitedly. She jumps around rather awkwardly since her arm is in a sling. “What kind of ice-cream are you going to get, Gavin?” she asks, with a joyful tone still in her voice.

“ _No!_  No way! This prick is  _not_  coming to get ice-cream with us! We are leaving the hospital, going to the ice-cream shop, then going back to the office!” I state strictly. “There is no way I’m going to haul Gavin’s ass around town all day! _And that’s final!_ "

*

"Yay! I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice-cream!" Rosie cheers excitedly from the backseat of my car.

Gavin sings along with her as he buckles himself into the front passenger seat next to me. “Why aren’t you singing along, Michael?” He questions, with a sly and knowing smirk.

"I hate you  _so_ much, Gavin.”


	3. Chapter 3

The girl working behind the counter can’t be any older then eighteen. She has unnaturally bright red hair tied back into a high ponytail, and freckles are scattered around her nose and cheeks. The glasses that rest against the end of her nose are thick and square shaped. She beams up at me with a smile that’s way too wide and asks, “Hi! What can I get for you today?”

I try not to hate her for being in such a peppy mood. There is literally nobody else in the store besides us. “What kind of ice-cream do you want, Rosie?” I call out to her, as she’s scanning the different flavours behind the glass.

"Butterscotch!" She announces, and presses her finger against the glass to point it out.

"What about you, Gav?"

"Just chocolate for me please."

"Can we  _pleaseee_  go play the arcade game?” Rosie asks Gavin and points towards the ancient looking Pac-Man game that’s standing in the corner of the shop.

"Yeah, of course!" He effortlessly picks her up and carries her toward the machine. They both laugh and giggle along the way as though they’re telling secret jokes. It’s as though she’s forgotten all about her bad arm.

 

"Be careful!" I shout after them. I’m trying to be as cautious as I can with Rosie now. Taking her out to fun places apparently doesn’t work out very well in my favour.

They show no signs of listening to my warning, and I’m just left to shake my head in annoyance. The girl behind the counter grins as she watches the exchange.

"And I’ll just have a strawberry." I turn towards her and hand her the money.

Leaning against the counter, I begin to look around the store. It’s been such a hectic day, and it feels like I’ve hardly had any rest at all. The only noise in the whole place is the humming of the fan, Gavin and Rosie chatting excitedly over their video game, and a music player which is turned down so low that I can’t even recognize what song is playing.

The ice-cream store can only be described as annoyingly cute. It’s decked out with these cutesy pictures of cartoon characters eating ice-cream. The chairs, booth, and tables are bright obnoxious shades of pink and aqua blue.

I look back and forth from watching her scooping the ice-cream into bowls, to the two playing Pac-Man across the store, until she begins speaking to me.

"I think you two are a really cute couple." She smiles, as she places the last bowl of ice-cream onto the counter in front of me.

I raise an eyebrow in confusion. I must not have heard her correctly. “Excuse me?”

I hear Gavin and Rosie cheer loudly with excitement. Out of the corner of my eye, I see them hugging and throwing their fists into the air in celebration. I assume they won the game or beat some kind of high score, but I don’t really pay attention to that.

"And your daughter is really cute too. She’s lucky to have such great dads." She gushes.

"But…We’re not…" I can’t form words. It’s like my brain’s just stopped functioning and I’m not able to process what’s happening. Why can’t I speak!? "Um…Thanks?"

Seriously?

 _Those_  are the words I’m able to say.

"Guess what, Michael!? We got the high score!" Gavin yells, as he and Rosie make their way back over to us.

"Yeah! The people that played before us must have sucked at Pac-Man though, because their scores were really low compared to  _ours_!” Rosie gloats, obviously feeling very proud.

"Uh…Good job you two. Have some ice-cream to celebrate." I say, still in shock over the girls words.

"Sweet!" Gavin grabs his and hands Rosie hers, then they blabbered about their amazing win on their way to a booth.

I finally snap out of my shock, and take my own ice-cream off of the table. I look back up at the girl, and she smiles at me happily. I force a smile back before turning away to join the two at the booth.

Why would she automatically assume that Gavin and I were a gay married couple!?

I try to push it away from my thoughts as I sit down next to Rosie in the booth with Gavin sitting across from us.

I look up at him, and see him trying to hide a smile. Raising my eyebrow in confusion, I stare at him until he explains himself.

He doesn’t say anything, except he holds his hand up to his mouth in an attempt to hold back giggles. I roll my eyes, and decide that it’s not worth it, then go back to my ice-cream.

"Wow, Michael. We only just met a few hours ago and we’re already  _married_.” He smirks.

I look up at him in shock and annoyance. “Fuck off you prick! You heard that!?”

He just throws his head back with laughter. I kick his shin from underneath the table, but even that doesn’t stop his giggles. Thankfully the subject is changed when Rosie (who wasn’t paying attention to us) taps on my arm.

"Michael?" She questions, "Do you think daddy will be mad at you?"

I sigh, “Yeah. He’s probably going to kill me.”

"I’ll tell him it was all my fault! It was  _me_  who fell off the monkey bars. Besides, I really like this thing.” She says, gesturing to her sling.

"Don’t worry. He won’t kick my ass  _too_  hard.” My attempts to reassure her backfire though, when she overhears me mutter “Hopefully.”

"I don’t want him to be mad at you. This was the best day of my life!"

"Well, you’re day seems to be going better than his" Gavin interjects. I glare at him, and he smirks back at me while shoveling ice-cream into his mouth.

We finish eating while telling stupid jokes and stories to each other. And while laughing at one of Gavin’s idiotic theories about ice-cream, I decide that maybe this day hasn’t been  _so_  bad after all.

"This ice-cream is top! I’m so excited that you took us here, Michael!"

"I don’t know why I let you children talk me into doing stupid things." I mutter under my breath.

"I’m not a child, Michael!" Gavin argues, while licking the side of his chocolate ice-cream.

"Neither am I!" Rosie yells.

The only response I have is to roll my eyes.

Everything is content and pleasant until I feel my phone vibrating in my pocket. I groan. It’s obviously Geoff. We’ve been in the ice-cream store for about fifteen minutes now.

I tell Gavin and Rosie to quiet down, “Your dad’s calling me.” I inform.

"Tell him not to beat you up!" Rosie pleads.

I press the answer button, and hold the phone to my ear. “Hello?”

"Where are you now, asshole?"

"Uh…We’re at the ice-cream shop."

"What!? Are you seriously just dragging my daughter to every place in town or something!? Why are you not back here yet? And is her arm broken!?" He yells.

"Sorry! And no, apparently it’s just really badly bruised. They wrapped it up, but she’s totally fine. The nurse promised her she could get ice-cream afterwards, so I was basically forced to bring her here." I explain, watching Rosie and Gavin. They’re staring at me, as though they’re scared Geoff could murder me through the phone.

"Okay, good. Is she happy, at least?" He questions. Sometimes I forget how good of a dad Geoff is, and whenever he asks questions like this it makes me smile.

"Yeah, she says she’s having the best day ever."

"Good." I hear him chuckle a bit. Then his voice goes serious. "But onto more serious matters. I need you to get back here right now! You were supposed to record a Rage Quit! It should have been done hours ago, but due to your royal fuck up, you need to be back here  _right_  now to record one before we all have to leave for the day.”

"What do you mean? I’ll just stay and record after everyone’s gone. That’s what I usually do anyways."

"Is he threatening to murder you yet?" I hear Gavin ask, while he leans across the table, in an idiotic attempt to listen. I swat him away with my unoccupied hand and glare at him.

"You can’t do that, dude. We’re having the whole building cleaned before we start allowing tours again. The whole place is going to be filled with maids and shit. I told you this earlier!"

"Damn it." I guess I wasn’t paying attention. "Well, we’ll be there in like a half an hour if traffic’s good."

"Half an hour!? What ice-cream shop are you at?" He yells. I’m hesitant to tell him which one, because we’re literally only a five minute drive back to the office. But to drive back to the hospital, drop off Gavin,  _and_  drive back will actually take us about thirty minutes.

But I’m at a disadvantage because this is the only ice-cream shop. If I tell Geoff otherwise he’d obviously know I’m lying. I don’t need to give him more reasons to kick my ass.

It’s not hard to tell that he’s is stressed out about this. I don’t really blame him though, it _is_  all my fault.

I was supposed to have a brand new Rage Quit recorded so that I could give it to Geoff, because  _he_  was supposed to edit it tonight. Usually I edit them but this whole weeks schedule has been so messed up. 

"We’d be there  _a lot_ sooner, but we have to run back to the hospital to drop someone off.” Please don’t ask who. Please don’t ask who.  _Please_  don’t ask who.

"Who?" Fuck.

"Uh…We made a friend at the hospital, and Rosie  _really_ wanted him to come out for ice-cream with us.” I feel like I’m walking on eggshells when I explain that.

"A friend? Like a kid?"

I grimace, “Something like that.”

"Are you guys talking about me?" Gavin questions.

"Who the fuck else could I be describing, Gavin!?" I whisper in an angry tone.

"Gavin? Is that his name?" Geoff asks.

  
"Yeah." I mutter.

"Give him the phone."

"What!? Why!?"

"Just do it, asswipe."

I groan. No good can come from this. “He uh…He wants to talk to you.” I hold the phone out to him.

"To me?"

"Yes! Take the damn phone!"

Gavin takes it and cautiously holds it to his ear. I don’t know if he’s stupid for reacting like that or not. Why does Geoff want to talk to him? To yell at him for tagging along? 

"Is dad mad at Gavvy too?" Rosie asks me.

"I have no idea."

I try to listen to Gavin’s responses, trying to figure out what Geoff’s intentions are.

"Hello?…Yeah…Gavin Free…Back at the hospital…Oh, yeah! That sounds top! I don’t mind at all…Oh, not at all! Michael and I are good friends…" I roll my eyes at that. As the conversation continues Gavin’s worried look turns to one of excitement. "I’ll be sure to tell him…Yeah, so I guess I’ll meet you soon! Later, lad!"

He hangs up the phone and passes it to me.

"What did you mean  _meet you soon_!?” I do a bad impression of his accent, “What did he say!?”

"He said that it’s okay if I come back to the office with you guys, and then you can bring me back later." He grins.

"No. No! You cannot come back with us!" I yell.

"It’s too late! Geoff said that you have to do it because  _you_  injured Rosie.” He smirks. Geoff’s already pulling that card on me. But the worse thing is Gavin’s smug face. He fucking knows how much I’m hating this, and he’s eating it up. That fucking asshole.

Rosie cheers, “So Gavin’s coming back to RoosterTeeth with us?”

"Yup!" He confirms himself.

I just bury my face in my hands, and groan as loud as I can.

*

"It’s about time you assholes got here!" Geoff yells as soon as we walk through the doors. We walk over to him. I don’t even notice Gavin lag behind to introduce himself to Kara, who’s sitting behind the front desk. But I don’t pay any attention to their conversation.

Geoff immediately focuses all of his attention onto his daughter, checking her over to make sure she’s alright. “Are you okay, Rosie!? You’re mom and I have been worried sick!” He gets down to her level to scoop her up into his arms.

"I’m fine, daddy! We had the best day ever! I have to show you my creeper drawing later!" She grins. I swear that kid’s been  _all_  smiles,  _all_  day.

"Creeper drawing!? Wicked!" That creeper drawing has been responsible for a lot today. "I’ll have talk to you about your day later, okay? Go find mom for now though. I have to take care of Michael and his friend." He explains to her, and she nods her head.

"Bye, Michael! Bye, Gavin!" She calls out to us as she runs off. "Thanks for the best day of my life!" Kids can be so dramatic. But at least  _someone_  had a good day.

"See you later, Rosie!" Gavin shouts back to her. She waves then rushes off up the stairs to find Griffon.

"Is that Gavin?" He asks, while gesturing to the guy.

"Yeah." I mutter, and turn to see Gavin talking to Kara with a huge grin. He must be telling her some kind of story, because he’s moving his arms around crazily with huge over dramatic hand motions.

She has an amused smile plastered across her face as she listens to him.

He has such a contagious personality. I’ve only met him  _today!_  Yet it seems like every new person he meets he ends up being friends with immediantly. It’s enough to piss me off for the rest of my life.

When he hears us talking about him, his attention turns from her to us.

"Hello!" He calls out, while running the short distance over to us. "You must be Geoff!"

"Hey, man!" Geoff reaches out to shake his hand, but Gavin just pulls him forward and gives him a quick, friendly hug. I expect Geoff to be confused or weirded out, but instead he just chuckles and looks at me. "This guy’s funny!"

Sometimes Geoff can be a contrary bitch, but usually he’s as soft as a teddy bear.

"Gavin’s an asshole." I mutter. This seems to please Geoff even more.

"So you guys work here and just play video games all day? That’s got to be the best job ever!" Gavin exclaims, while attacking the room with his eyes.

"Yeah, it’s pretty awesome. Except when  _some people_  don’t do their jobs, and instead play house with my daughter all day.” He gives me a glare, but then pats me on the shoulder with a mocking smile. “So, buddy. Time to go record a Rage Quit!”

Usually I love doing Rage Quit, but after today all I want to do is go home and sleep then never wake up.

"Can I watch?" Gavin’s eyes shine with curiosity  He doesn’t even know what a Rage Quit video is.

"No. Go find somebody else to bother." I glare at him.

Geoff completely ignores me and puts his arm around Gavin in a friendly gesture. “Of course you can, buddy! Michael loves having company when he records Rage Quit!”

"No. No, I don’t."

He pays no attention to me again. Suddenly, I see his eyes light up, and an ever bigger shit eating grin forms across his face. He has an idea, and if I know Geoff as well as I do, it’s going to mean hell for me. “Actually…What if you did the Rage Quit  _with_  Michael?”

"What!?" I yell. No way! I am  _not_  filming a video with this asshole! Especially not a video where I’m playing a game that’s going to piss me off!

"Yeah, sure! That sounds top!" Gavin responds enthusiastically.

"That doesn’t even make any sense! I’m supposed to be playing Slender! It’s a _one player game_ , Geoff!” I was an idiot to think that my day was getting better.

"We can make it work! Gavin’s a cool guy, the fans will probably like him!" He squeezes Gavin’s shoulders happily, while grinning at me.

I hate that he’s probably right. I’ve had yet to meet a person that didn’t automatically like Gavin.

"Yeah, I’m a cool guy!" He gives me the same stupid smile Geoff is.

They are just loving this. It’s like they enjoy seeing me angry and miserable. Why did they have to become such good friends so quick!?

We literally only just came through the doors of the office, and Geoff’s already got his arm around him as though he’s his own son. And not to mention he’s already teaming up against me with him. Sometimes I hate my job.

"Fine! We’ll do the fucking Rage Quit if it’ll make you all shut up!"


	4. Chapter 4

Playing Slender with Gavin was actually a lot more fun than I thought it was going to be. But it was also a lot more annoying too.

He’d ask stupid questions, scream a lot, yell, and laugh at my anger. I hated to admit that it was probably going to be a really funny video. Hopefully Geoff didn’t realize the same thing.

By the time we were done recording, it was eight at night, and the cleaning crew were already bringing in all of their supplies. They would be cleaning late into the night, and wanted to start as soon as possible. So we had to get out of there quickly.

 

"Do you want me to bring you to the hospital? Or do you just want me to drop you off at your house?" I ask him as we’re entering my car. There aren’t many RoosterTeeth employees left inside at this point, so the parking lot is pretty empty.

"Just bring me back to the hospital." He responds, then grins at me, "Wasn’t today bloody top? It was probably the best day ever."

"What was so great about it?" I start up the car, and begin to leave the parking lot. I’m still in a fairly bad mood, but that could be because filming Rage Quit usually leaves me in a contrary state.

"I got to meet you and Rosie, I saw a very beautiful creeper drawing, had ice-cream, beat the high score on Pac-man, made a bunch of new friends here at RoosterTeeth, played Slender with you-" The list was a lot longer than I thought it would be.

"Okay! I get it. Gavin Free’s day was  _amazing_.” I state saracastically.

"Don’t be mad, Michael. Didn’t you have a good day aswell?"

"No! Do you want me to list out all the things that sucked about today!?" I didn’t actually mean it. I was just trying to mock him, but it was completely lost on him.

"Yeah!"

"Sure! Why not!? First of all, I was tired as dicks this morning because I had to stay up late editing, then I came to the office and edited  _all_ morning in the tiny Achievement Hunter room. Then I volunteered to pick up Rosie from school, hoping that getting out of that room could brighten my day a little.  _Plot twist!_ " I yell that part louder, "It didn’t! Because I let her talk me into taking her to the playground, where she ended up falling off the monkey bars and almost broke her arm.

"I took her to the hospital, where I fought with the annoying bitch of a secretary, then Geoff called me and yelled at me for breaking his daughters arm. Can’t really blame him for that, but  _whatever_. I walk back into the waiting room only to end up face to face with the biggest prick in the world.

"Then that nurse, Barbara, told me I had to take Rosie to get ice-cream, and of course that asshole guy just  _had_  to tag along for that. The girl working at the ice-cream store congratualed me on my “beautiful family”, and then to top it all off Geoff let you come to RoosterTeeth, and made me play Slender with  _you_. So, there you go, Gavin. It’s been a pretty shitty day.”

"Your bad list is a lot longer than my good list." He points out.

"Thank you, Captain fucking Obvious." I growl.

"Oh, come on, Michael. Lighten up."

"Do  _not_  tell me to lighten up.”

"Don’t be like that! I know it’s been pretty bad for you, but think of all the good things that came out of today. If you didn’t go pick up Rosie, we wouldn’t have ever met." He points out.

I feel my grip tighten on the steering wheel out of annoyance. “Yeah.” I growl, saracastically, “Thank God  _that_  happened.”

"You can be as angry and saracastic as you want, Michael. But I know that deep down you really do like me. We were having a right on chat while Rosie was getting her arm checked,  _and_  at the ice-cream shop!”

I don’t even look over at him. If I do I’m going to see him grinning, and if I see that…I’m going to punch him in the face.

Because the truth is, I kind of  _do_  like Gavin. But fuck if I’d tell him that. So instead I just mutter, “Sure.”

"Do you think we’ll ever hang out again?" He questions.

"I don’t know." I’m not really in the mood to talk at all, but that seems to be all Gavin wants to do.

Instead of responding, he grabs my phone off of the dashboard and begins tapping away on it. “What the fuck are you doing on my phone?”

"Adding my number."

"Why?"

"So we can communicate. You’ll text me later, right?" He asks, without looking away from my phone.

I sigh. Is there even any point in arguing anymore? “Yeah, I’ll text you later.”

"Good. Even if you don’t, I have your number now too, so I’ll text you anyways. Because I really like you, Michael! Today was a lot of fun, even if it was pretty crummy for you."

I let silence fill the air for a few moments. “Maybe the day wasn’t  _that_  bad…” I trail off quietly.

Gavin jumps in his seat. “I knew it! I knew you had fun today!”

This guy is like a non-stop ball of energy. Why is he so happy and excited all the time!? Is he on drugs? That must be it.

"Calm down, asshole. Yes. Fine. Today was pretty alright."

"It was more than  _alright_! It was bloody top!” He grins.

We pull up to a red light, and I turn to look at Gavin. After seeing his huge smile and excited eyes, I can’t help but chuckle. “Why are you so happy!?” I laugh.

That makes him stop, and he gives me a confused stare, “Why  _not_!? It was a beautiful day, there are people alive and well around us, birds are singing, everybody’s happy…and the light just turned green.”

I look up to see that he’s right. “You should be a motatvational speaker.” I mutter, saracastically. The stop-light seems almost brighter now that it’s getting dark out. The weather’s been amazing for the past couple of days, so everybody’s been enjoying it as much as they can. I see a group of teenagers carrying around bags (probably containing alcohol), and couples going for cheesy romantic walks during the sunset.

"So, Michael?"

"What?"

I don’t get to hear what he wanted to ask me, because a loud sound echoes throughout the car. It sounds sort of like a crow cawing, and it scares the shit out of me.

"Don’t worry, lad! It’s just my phone!" He grins, as he pulls it out of his jeans pocket.

"Leave it to you to have the most annoying ringtone ever." I mutter. He must have heard me because he giggled, then answered his phone.

"Hello?…Oh, hey Barbara!…I’m on my way back right now…Yeah…I’m literally in Michael’s car on my way back…Oh, stop your worrying!…Calm down, nothing happened….I’ll be back in less than five minutes, okay?…I’ll see you then, Barbs…Bye!" He hangs up.

"Barbara?" I ask, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah, she was worried about me. I left without telling her I was going anywhere. She is  _pissed_ off.” He answers, then quickly changes the subject by talking about some weird and crazy theory he has.

*

We pull up next to the enterance of the hospital, but Gavin makes no movements to leave. Instead he turns to look at me.

"Do you have work tomorrow?" I sense an alterier motive, but I decide to answer him anyways.

"No, why?"

"Well, I was thinking…since today was so fun, we could do it again tomorrow."

"Rosie has school. Besides, I don’t think Geoff’ll trust me to take his daughters _anywhere_ now.” That comment makes Gavin give out a laugh, but he quickly recovers to respond, his face turning just a little more serious.

"I meant without Rosie. Just me and you."

"Just us? What would we do?"

Does he mean like a date!? One side of me is screaming to say ‘No, don’t ever talk to me again, you annoying prick.’ but the other side is screaming ‘Yeah, of course! I’d love to.’ I feel like a fourteen year old girl.

"Just hang out, like we did today."

Does Gavin even like guys? What if I say yes, and assume it’s a date, but then it turns out he just wants us to be friends. Should I even agree to this at all? It’s like my brain has a love/hate relationship with Gavin Free. One second I hate him, and the next I’m extrememly attracted to him.

I’m having a mini panic attack in my head, yet Gavin’s sitting there patiently, not looking worried that I’d reject him in the slightest. He actually looks content, yet he’s also anticipating what my answer will be.

"You okay, lad?" He asks, with a smirk. He waves his hand in front of my face, then lets out a laugh.

He must mean just to hang out as friends. Otherwise he’d be a lot more nervous than he’s acting. Hell, I’m not even the one asking anyone out and my palms are sweating.

Fuck it. There’s only one way to find out. “Like a…a…” I stutter out.

I see a knowing smile form on his lips, “Yes, Michael. Like a date.”

"Uh… Yeah. Sure. I’d like that." I mutter attempting to seem nonchalant. I might as well  _try_  to regain all what’s left of my diginity. Gavin doesn’t seem to care though, and just chuckles at me as though he knows this. I want to punch him so hard for making me turn into a stuttering idiot.

He finally moves to get out of the car, but first turns to look at me one more time. “I’ll see you later, Michael!” He smiles real big, showing off his happiness that I agreed.

"Later, Gav." I smirk, and watch as he closes the car door and enters the hospital.

Something is seriously wrong with me.

*

The sound of my text tone wakes me up. I groan loudly into my pillow before I decide to just ignore it. It’s quiet for a few seconds, and I’m already able to feel myself doozing off into sleep.

It goes off again. I make an even louder noise in annoyance, then peak an eye open. I’m met with darkness, which surprises me. If somebody’s texting me, shouldn’t the sun at least be up? I look over at my bedside table to look at my clock. Four in the morning.

Who the fuck could be texting me right now?

The text tone goes off again.

"Jesus Christ." I curse, and reach blindly for my cell-phone without looking. I press the button and the screen lights up, momentarily blinding me for a few moments. Three new messages, all from ‘Gavin Free.’

I never should have let him fuck around with my phone.

After unlocking it, I read his messages and respond with a very nice and polite one of my own.

 _Gavin Free:_  Hey, Michael! :)

 _Gavin Free:_ Are you awake?

 _Gavin Free:_ Wake up, you silly sausage!

 _Michael Jones:_ Fuck off, you asshole. It’s four in the fucking morning. Go the fuck to bed!

 _Gavin Free:_  Have you woke up on the wrong side of the bed, love?

 _Michael Jones:_  Yes! Because you fucking woke me up! Why the hell are you awake in the first place?

 _Gavin Free:_  Sleeping is boring. Why waste time sleeping when you can be doing fun things?

 _Michael Jones:_ I thought we were hanging out tomorrow?

 _Gavin Free:_  We are, what’s your point?

I’m fully awake at this point. He’s probably not going to stop texting me anytime soon, so I decide to embrace it by sitting up a little in my bed and having a full conversation with him. This guy will be the death of me, I swear.

 _Michael Jones:_  My POINT is that you should be sleeping now so that you won’t be falling asleep tomorrow

 _Gavin Jones:_ You could just carry me around on your back all day. Like in Slender!

 _Michael Jones:_ Yeah, as if that’ll ever fucking happen. What the hell are we even doing tomorrow anyways?

 _Gavin Free:_ Well Barbara’s mad at me for leaving yesterday without telling her, so I doubt she’ll let me go anywhere today. Why don’t we just hang out at the hospital?

 _Michael Jones:_ What do you mean? How can she not let you leave? And what fun is there to have at a hospital?

 _Gavin Free:_ Loads of fun! Oh you wouldn’t believe it, Michael! We could have such a fun time! Then next time, YOU can pick where we go! Sound good?

 _Michael Jones:_  Next time?

 _Gavin Free:_ Of course! You’re not getting away from me that easily ;)

I let out a soft chuckle before scolding myself. I really am turning into a teenage girl.

 _Michael Jones:_ Just go to bed, dude.

 _Gavin Free:_  Fine, you win. Goodnight, my little Michael! Sweet dreams!

I roll my eyes before laying down in bed again. I’m about to respond by calling him an idiot, but I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.

*

I’ve never went to a hospital for a date before. I’m one hundred percent sure that nobody has ever picked a weirder location for a date.

I pushed it to the back of my mind before I could go into depth about it with myself, because Gavin himself was a pretty weird guy, so it seems fitting that he’d pick such an odd place.

I closed my car door, and began to walk towards the hospital, taking out my cell-phone to call the idiot.

He picks up on the first ring, but doesn’t say a word. The only noise I hear is his heavy breathing.

"Gavin?" I question.

"Oh, hey, Michael!" He whispers. He’s panting as though he’s out of breath and tired.

"Why are you whispering?"

"I’m hiding!"

"From?"

"Are you almost to the hospital?" He whispers again, dodging the question.

"Yeah, I’m literally walking through the doors right now. The bitch secretary’s already giving me death glares." I mutter, giving her the same harsh looks. She finally gives up and goes back to talking to the woman in front of her desk.

There’s actually a lot of people in the waiting room today. When I was here with Rosie the place was practically deserted, but now it’s like the beginning of a zombie movie. Where the disease is in it’s first stages and everybody just thinks it’s a bad cold.

"Okay, do you see the sign that gives directions to certain hospital wings?"

I look around until my eyes meet the huge sign, which happens to be above the secretary’s desk. “Yeah.”

"Good. Completely ignore it. _I’m_ going to give you directions to where I am.”

"What? Why can’t you just come to me?"

  
"Because, I’m hiding, Michael!"

"So is that why you’ve been whispering this whole time?"

"Yeah, I don’t want to give myself away."

"Whatever you say, dude. Now give me the directions, people are starting to look at me weird." An old lady that’s sitting in the chair closest to me has been eyeing me up and down.

"Walk into the second waiting room, then go down the hallway that’s to the right of the ‘Wash your hands, as often as you can’ sign." He instructs.

"That’s a pretty shitty rhyme." I interject.

"I don’t make the bloody signs here, just do it."

I laugh, “Don’t get snappy.”

"Sorry, this hiding place is just very dark. I’m scared I’ll be caught soon."

"I feel compelled to ask, but I think the answer’s just going to piss me off." I muse, as I continue to follow his instructions. "Okay, I’m currently walking down the hallway."

"Notice how all the doors to the patients rooms are green? The janitors closet has a red door, keep going until you see a red door on the left hand side of the hallway. Then go into the third door down from that."

"Are you reading these instructions off of something?" I question, while searching for a red door.

"Nah, I just know this hospital really well."

I’m about to respond but I finally see the red door Gavin’s referring to. It even has a little sign on it that says  _Janitor_. “Found the red door. So the third one?”

"Yeah." I count down and open up the door. "So, now you’ll want to go up three flights of stairs." He explains. The door opens directly to two staircases side by side next to each other. One going up, and one going down.

I’m surprised how accurate his directions are. I keep looking behind my back to check and see if he’s actually following me or something. How could he know the layout of the hospital so well that he’d be able to give such easy instructions from place to place.

"So, if I was in the wing of the hospital where babies are born, and you were in the hospital’s kitchen, could you give me directions on how to get to you?" I ask, curiously. Climbing three sets of stairs takes a lot longer than I would have thought.

"Oh yeah, of course. That’d be easy."

"Easy? What would you consider to be hard?"

"I don’t think any directions throughout the hospital would be hard. I could probably give you directions from Room 312 to Room 983 without much difficulty."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah, it’d prove it to you right now, but I really need you to get to where I am before I’m discovered."

I know I shouldn’t ask him what the hell is going on. Because it’s just going to make me want to punch him as soon as I see him. Which I’ll probably do anyways.

I finally reach the top of the third set of stairs, and the wall has two different doors. “What door?”

"The one to the right." I open it to reveal a long hallway in front of me. "So, just keep walking straight and tell me when you reach a TV; and there’s probably two old men watching golf in front of it."

These directions just keep getting weirder and weirder. “Two old men watching golf?”

As I continue down the hall I pass by lots of people. Doctors, nurses, patients. I have no idea what wing of the hospital I’m in, so I don’t even know if there could be any type of emergency going on.

"Yeah, that’s Gregory and Phillip, they’re pretty cool dudes. They tell me war stories sometimes." He murmurs quietly.

As soon as he finishes explaining, I come across a small area that has a few couches, but only two people are sitting at them. There’s a small television set that has a game of golf playing, and it’s currently being yelled at by the two old men. I smirk at the thought of Gavin discussing war stories with them.

"What are you looking at, boy?" One of them questions in a gruff voice after noticing me looking at them. He doesn’t ask in a friendly tone.

Gavin’s friends with them, so I should probably attempt to be nice. “Oh, sorry. Gavin Free is giving me directions around the hospital, and you guys were a part of them.” I explain quickly, without bothering to move the phone away from my face.

"You’re on the phone with Gavin?" The other man asks. I give a quick nod. "Well, put it on speaker phone! We want to talk to our boy!"

I don’t know if I should listen to them or not, but Gavin soon gives an excited response (still in the form of a whisper.) “Oh, you’ve reached them! Put me on speaker phone so I can say hi to them!”

This must be a normal occurence. But I’ve learned that questioning the things Gavin does in this place just leads to more confusion on my half.

I pull the phone away from my ear, and press the speaker button. The old men begin talking immediately.

"Hello, Gavin!"

"Hey, guys! Watching golf, I assume?" Gavin whispers, but you can hear the happiness behind it.

"Oh yeah." one answers, "It’s a rough game today."

Gavin lets out a dramatic sigh as though he feels bad for them, then mutters, “Sorry to hear that guys! Hopefully it’ll get better.”

"Why are you whispering?" one demands.

"Yeah, boy! What’s going on?" the other yells.

"Don’t worry, lads!" he responds, "I’m hiding! Operation C is underway. So I have to give Michael directions to me so that I won’t be caught."

What the fuck is Operation C?

The two men seem to know what that means, as they both nod in understanding. “Damn, boy. Didn’t realize that you were doing that again today! Let us know if there’s anything we can do to help!”

"It’s fine, I’ve never been caught before." He responds.

"If this boy Michael causes you to be caught this time, we’ll kick his ass for you." The one wearing a plaid hat says, while glaring at me.

"Yeah, just because we’re old doesn’t mean we don’t whoop ass." The other joins in.

Gavin laughs, “No need for that, boys! He won’t cause any problems. Right, Michael?”

I nod, and say “Of course not. Wouldn’t want to ruin Operation B or whatever.”

"C." Gavin corrects me.

What’s the difference?

"The boy doesn’t even know the codes! How’s he going to last here!? I don’t think we can approve of him, Gav…" the bald guy yells. They both continue to glare at me, and I don’t know if I should glare back or not. It seems that I should at least  _attempt_  to get on their good side.

"Don’t worry, Michael is perfect in every way!" The statement causes me to turn a little red. Leave it to Gavin to say shit like that.

The men continue to glare, but I see smiles beginning to form. The two remind me of those guys from the Muppet Show that sit up in the balcony.

"Oh, so it’s like  _that_.” One says, and I know that they’re referring to my romantic relationship with Gavin. However small it is, considering this is the only date we’ve ever been on and we only just met yesterday.

"If you even think about hurting our boy, we won’t  _just_  kick your ass.” One warns, leaning closer in his seat towards me, “We’ll cut off your legs and kick your ass with those too!”

"Beat you to death with them!" The other joins in.

"Now, now, lads!" Gavin attempts to calm them down, while giggling softly, "Don’t be like that."

"We’re just looking out for you, boy."

When they call Gavin “boy” they say it with fatherly affection. Yet when they use the word to refer to me, it’s said as though it’s a threat.

"I’ll probably talk to you two later, okay? We’ll let you get back to your golf." Gavin says.

"See you later, boy!" They both say at the same time.

I take the phone off speaker and hold it up to my ear again. “That was fun! Now, go to the next corridor you come across. It should be on your right.” Gavin says.

The two men are still watching me, with slight glares. I give them a small wave before walking away. Even though they seem to hate me, they wave back.

"Do you do this to all of your dates?" I ask him, while searching for the corridor.

"Do what?"

"Make them go on scavenger hunts to find you?"

He lets out a laugh, but quickly quiets himself down in fear of being to loud.

"Nah, you’re just special." I can practically hear his grin.

"Wipe that stupid smile off your face." I command, knowingly. Even though I know it’s hypocritical, because I’m grinning too, but more at how absurd this whole thing is.

"Yes, sir." He responds sarcastically while chuckling.


	5. Chapter 5

"How big is this fucking hospital!?" I yell into the phone. A nurse that’s walking by glares at me, probably for my volume and language. It’s my own fault that it’s taking this long though, since I went through a wrong hallway and had to describe to Gavin where I was so that he could get me back on track.

"You’re almost to me now."

"Where the hell could you even be?"

Gavin doesn’t get a chance to respond, because somebody runs up to me and grabs me by the shoulders. I’m not even able to register who it is because I’m just trapped in a moment of pure shock. The only thing I can feel is their sharp fingernails digging into my skin through my hoodie. I let out a gasp, and attempt to move away but she has a death grip on me.

I recognize her as the nurse Barbara that Gavin is close friends with.

"Your name is Michael, right?" She asks quickly. Her face is a cross of panic, annoyance, and desperation. She also looks extremely stressed out and tired, as though she’d just run a marathon. But I’m sure that pointing that out won’t bring relief to my (possibly bleeding) shoulders.

"Uh…Yeah…And you’re Barbara?" I make sure to not move the phone away from my face, so that Gavin will know what’s going on. He doesn’t make a noise though, so I’m left to solve this puzzle by myself.

"Yes. And you’re friends with Gavin?" Her grip on my shoulders haven’t loosed in the slightest. I see people that are passing by look at us strangely before continuing on. Are the nurses here allowed to harass visitors?

I grimace before muttering, “More or less.”

 

She begins to shake me a little with each word, “Where. Is. He!?”

"I don’t know! Why!?" I raise my voice.

She finally lets me go, and takes a step back. She glances around as though she’s still looking for him. “He’s gone missing  _again_ , and I’ve been trying to find him for literally an hour now.”

"Again?"

"He’s  _always_  doing shit like this. This is a hospital, not a playground. There are so many places that Gavin’s not allowed to go to, but he just goes wherever he wants anyways!” She rants loudly.

"Hey, uh…" I put a hesitant hand on her shoulder in an attempt to be comforting, "Calm down. I’m sure you’ll find him."

She rolls her eyes, but I can tell she appreciates it a little bit. She’s obviously very stressed out. Who knew Gavin could cause so much trouble. “Thanks.” She mutters then gives me a confused glance, “Wait, why are you here anyways?”

I have no answer to that. If I tell her I’m here to see Gavin, then she’ll probably demand me to take her to him. And I don’t even know where he is myself. I’ve already figured out that Barbara must be the person that he’s hiding from, so I know it wouldn’t be wise to tell her.

"Tell her you’re here to visit a friend." I hear Gavin whisper, lower than normal.

"That’s a shitty reason." I whisper into the phone. Barbara doesn’t hear it though, but she notices that I’m speaking to somebody on the phone, and quirks an eyebrow in suspicion.

"It’s technically not a lie." he says, trying to muffle his giggles.

I sigh in annoyance, then repeat what Gavin said, to Barbara. I don’t expect her to fall for it, but she simply nods her head then says “Tell me if you see Gavin  _anywhere_ " and walks away.

"That was weird." I mumble, mostly to myself, but Gavin hears it.

"Is she gone?"

"Yeah."

"Good. I think she’s going to skin me alive when she finds me. Anyways, just keep walking down the corridor."

"Why does Barbara want to kill you?" I question.

"Because I always go to places of the hospital where I’m not allowed."

"Are you in one of those places now?"

"Yeah, of course."

I eventually reach a doorway with windows on them. I look through them and see that the hall continues but the walls are a lot brighter and filled with cartoon characters and different coloured hand-prints.

"I think I reached the Children’s Ward, did I go too far?" I ask.

"Nope, go through the door and keep walking."

"But-" I’m cut off when Gavin suddenly hangs up. "Gav?" I’m only met with the dial tone. "That fucker."

Why the fuck is Gavin in the Children’s Ward if he’s not allowed in there?

I decide to finally go through the doors anyway, and the silence is enough to make me shiver. It’s almost as though it’s too quiet, and there doesn’t seem to be anybody around.

He said to just keep walking, so I assume I’ll meet up with him eventually.

I feel like this is the beginning of a horror movie. A little girl with long black hair will just start chasing after me with a knife or something.

"Psst."

What the fuck was that?

"Psst! Michael!" I look around quickly, and my eyes finally rest on a door, to what I assume is a closet. It’s peeked open just a little bit, just enough that I’m able to see a small sliver of a person.

"Gavin?" I hesitantly begin to walk closer to the door.

"Get in!" He whispers, and opens it up wider. I’m close enough that he’s able to reach out, grab me by my arm, and then pull me in with him.

"Did anybody see you!?" He whispers, while closing the door almost all the way.

I was correct about it being a closet, and it’s also a  _very_ small one. Gavin and I are standing  _very_  close to one another. The only source of light is the small crack shining behind the door from Gavin peeking out, as though he’s watching for something. It’s dark enough that I can’t really see anything, but the smell of cleaning supplies hints that we’re in a janitors closet.

"Why the fuck are we in here?" I ask, not bothering to be quiet. I have to bite back to the urge to make a stupid ‘in the closet’ joke.

Gavin immediately turns away from the door and towards me. I can barely see the panicked look cross his face as he quickly claps his hand over my mouth. This might be the closest Gavin and I have been to each other so far. My eyebrows shoot up in alarm, as he begins whispering, “Be quiet, Michael! You’re gonna blow our cover!”

"What cover?" I ask, not bothering to move his hand from my mouth, so it comes out muffled.

He appears to understand it though, because he takes his hand off and turns back to watching out the door. “We’re in a war, Michael.”

I roll my eyes, “There is literally nobody out there.”

It’s still hard to wrap my head around the fact that this guy has caused me so much confusion and trouble in the short amount of time that I’ve known him. Yet, I’m on a date with him. In a hospital. In a fucking janitors closet. It’s like Gavin knows one million ways to make me both amused and angry beyond belief at the same time.

"Of course it is. That’s what they  _want_  you to think.” he explains, as though he’s actually in the middle of a battlefield.

"Sounds pretty dangerous, dude. No gun?" I mutter sarcastically. But he lifts up his left arm and reveals that he’s holding onto some kind of large object.

"What the fuck is that?" I ask him, too impatient to figure it out for myself.

"Super Soaker." He states. I look away from the water gun and to his face to glare at him. Seeing his huge grin just makes me glare harder.

"Gavin. Please just tell me what the fuck is going on." I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose in annoyance.

"Of course not, Michael! You know I hate spoilers." I open my eyes to see that he’s gone back to watching out the door. I can briefly recall him telling me that when we first met.

Then out of no where we hear a voice scream out “Olly olly oxen free!” from somewhere down the corridor.

"Oh bollocks, it’s begun!" He mutters, and turns to me. He begins playing with the gun as though he’s getting it ready for battle.

"What? What does that even mean!?" I question.

"Don’t worry, just follow my lead and we may get out of here with our lives." there’s still a huge grin stretched across his face, "if we don’t survive this, I just want you to know that you’re my boy, Michael."

I don’t get a chance to respond because he presses his lips to mine. My eyebrows raise up in shock; I wasn’t expecting him to kiss me! Before I’m even able to register the fact that I’m definitely enjoying it and want to kiss him back, he pulls away and opens up the door as though nothings happened. “Come on!”

My stomach and lips still feel tingly as he grabs me by the arm and begins dragging me around the hospital. I’m hardly able to keep up with him because he’s running so fast. I don’t know what we’re running from or if we’re even running from anything at all.

It was at this moment that it’d realized that I really liked Gavin Free. Even more than I thought I did last night when he asked me out. He’s able to make something so simple seem so fun. I don’t know what I expected a date with him to be like, but it’s honestly the craziest one I’ve ever been on. I keep having to force myself to act annoyed with his antics, but I can’t help but laugh when I see him frantically looking around in fear of being caught.

We do pass three or four nurses and doctors, but they just roll their eyes and chuckle with amusement. I guess everyone’s used to Gavin’s antics around here. He doesn’t even give them a second glance, and just continues on with this mission type thing he’s on.

We run a short distance until we reach a playroom. It’s like an open space that’s filled with children’s toys, couches, games, and a TV that’s playing an episode of Adventure Time at a volume so low that you can barely hear it. There’s still nobody in sight, and the only noise other than the TV show is our heavy breathing.

I open my mouth to speak, but Gavin cuts me off quickly with a whisper. “Shhh…Be very quiet…”

"Now!" A voice screams out.

"Get him!" another yells.

A bunch of voices start screaming all at once and I watch as children run out from behind the couches and random hiding places around the room. They’re all holding water guns that are smaller than Gavin’s and they’re all charging towards us. Gavin let’s out a scream and begins shooting his gun at them as they do the same to us.

I can’t stop laughing as Gavin and I scramble around trying to avoid getting shot at by the kids; but there’s so many of them that it’s basically impossible.

"Gavin!" I call out, hardly able to talk because of how hard I’m laughing. He seems to be having the same problem, as he tries to aim at the children while throwing his head back with laughter.

He was _seriously_ hiding in a closet because he was having a water fight with a group of children. No wonder Barbara doesn’t want him in this section of the hospital.

"Every man for himself!" He yells back to me. Ditching me wouldn’t do much good for him though since the kids are still yelling while spraying both of us equally with water.

"You’re an asshole!" I scream over the shouting.

I don’t even have a water gun to shoot them back, so I’m left trying to shield my face with my arms. The children don’t let up though as they just run around laughing and screaming with happiness. There’s so much water dripping down my hair and onto my glasses that I can’t see anything.

The entire room is just Gavin, me, and a bunch of kids laughing, shooting each other, and screaming.

It probably sounds and feels so much more dramatic than it really was. The whole thing only lasts for about two or three minutes because soon everybody runs out of water.

"Awww…" Gavin and the kids all whine as they realize their game has ended.

I’m able to see how much of a mess we’ve made of the playroom. There’s water everywhere, and everybody’s wet. If I could count all of the kids that are here, I’d say there’s over fifteen.

Some look perfectly healthy, others are more pale and thin. One small girl has large marks on the entire right side of her face that look like burns. One of them is in a wheelchair and is being wheeled around by another kid. Some children are connected to IV’s that they’re wheeling around with them. But they’re all grinning with the same amount of uncontrollable happiness as I am.

"That was fun, Gavin!" a boy with short black hair yells.

"Are we doing it again next week?" A girl asks.

"Of course! We do it every week!" Gavin reminds her, and everybody cheers as though they forgot this fact.

Gavin kneels down on the floor and all the kids group up around him before sitting down. I do the same and realize that we’re literally all sitting in a huge puddle of water.

Those Super Soakers really do their jobs well.

I sit with my legs crossed, and a young girl with light brown hair sits in my lap before I can protest. I look over to Gavin and see that he’s got two kids in his lap, and one is standing up behind him with their arms around his neck.

"Well, that was fun!" Gavin muses, as the kids continue to huddle close to him, still basking in the joy of the water fight. I feel another kid lean their head against my arm casually.

Is this what Gavin considers to be a normal date? Sitting in a puddle with kids after a huge water fight? I hate that I have no complaints about it, because honestly this has been the most fun I’ve had all month.

The kids are all talking to him, telling him different stories and asking him different questions. He’s doing an amazing job of listening to each of them and giving each the same amount of attention. Gavin’s obviously very good with kids.

I’m not stupid though; I know that these kids are probably all sick. Some look like they should be in bed right now, but Gavin doesn’t treat any of them as though they’re patients. He’s talking to them and joking around with them the same way he would with Rosie. I can’t help but smile as I watch him bask in the attention.

I’d say playing with these kids is usually the highlight of his day, and it’s obviously the highlight of theirs.

"That’s Michael!" Gavin answers one of them, while pointing over to me. I didn’t get to hear the question, and I’m only snapped out of my trance because I hear my name.

The kids turn their attention away from Gavin to see who he’s referring to, their eyes shine with excitement. The girl sitting in my lap turns around to face me and smiles, “I’m Lindy!”

"My name is Mark!"

"Hi Michael, I’m Lucille!"

The kids all attempt to introduce themselves to me at one time, swarming me with attention like they were with Gavin. All trying to me the closest.

"Okay, okay, calm down!" Gavin calls out, and begins to stand up. All the kids follow his instructions and attempt to back away a little in order to give me some room. Even Lindy moves off of my lap so that I can stand up. "I’m afraid Michael and I can’t stay much longer, because we have to pretend we weren’t a part of this at all."

The kids all nod in understanding, “We’ll cover for you, Gav!” A boy calls out.

Gavin grins, “If Barbara comes down, tell her you didn’t see me at all!”

I feel a tug at my jeans, and I look down to see the smallest girl trying to get my attention. She’s obviously the youngest out of all the kids, and they all appear to be under the age of ten. She has short black hair and she has tubes connected to her nose.

I lean down to pick her up after she reaches up her arms to me. We’re both equally soaked with water, which is something I only notice when she wraps her arms around my neck in an attempt to hold herself up.

"Can you get Gavin to come again tomorrow?" she asks me in a quiet voice.

"Maybe." I smile to her. She gives me a grin back once she realizes that she doesn’t have to be shy or scared around me. She’s probably the only one out the children who’s wary of strangers. The rest of them appear to take to newcomers very easily.

"Hey, Gav?" I call out to him. He’s not that far away from me, but the kids are still chattering excitedly in different volumes.

He turns all of his attention toward me, “Yeah?”

"The kids want to know if you’re coming again tomorrow?"

It doesn’t matter how many times I see that grin cross his face, it still sends a weird feeling to my insides every time he does it. “Of course I am!” He cheers, and walks over to take the girl from my arms. She grips him close to her in a tight hug, and he hugs her back. “How has your day been so far, Margie?”

She makes a pleased face, “It’s been good. But it’s more fun with you around to play!”

The children all agree loudly. “Will Michael come back to play too?” One asks him, their eyes shining with hope. I feel a surge of pride at the thought of the kids enjoying my company.

"Maybe!" Gavin announces to them, "but only if you’re all really good! So you better make sure you’re taking all your medicine and going to bed on time." They all agree to his conditions happily.

A high pitched noise catches out attention, and a voice calls out over an intercom “Can Gavin Free please come to the front desk, please? Gavin Free to the front desk.”

The kids all stare at him with worry. He gives them a nervous smile, then turns to me. “Guess it’s time for us to go, Michael!” I grin back at him and shake my head in amusement. Leave it to Gavin to get into trouble at a hospital.

As we leave the Children’s Ward the kids all follow us until we get to the door, then continue to wave and call out goodbyes.

"Bye, Gavin!"

"Bye, Michael!"

"See you later, Gavin!"

"Bye, Gavin’s boyfriend!"

 

Gavin looks at me with a smirk across his face at that last one. I roll my eyes and shove his shoulder. He just throws his head back and lets out another laugh.


	6. Chapter 6

"You’re probably the biggest idiot I’ve ever met, do you know that?" I ask him, as we walk down the hospital hallways.

"Michael!" He whines playfully.

"Barbara was right…You do treat the hospital like it’s a playground. Do you really do that with those kids every week?"

Nobody really pays us any attention when we pass by them. Except for some people who will give Gavin a wave and smile back when he greets them on our way. It’s like everybody here is his friend.

"Of course. Operation C."

“ _That’s_ what Operation C is!?”

"Yeah, what’d you think it was?"

"I don’t know…Something more serious. This is a hospital after all." Maybe I watch too many movies.

"Operation C  _is_  serious! Do you have any idea how difficult it is to hide from the nurses who don’t want me in there?”

"Speaking of which, isn’t Barbara still after you?"

"Yes. And a few other nurses and doctors."

"Then shouldn’t we be hiding somewhere that’s less out in the open?"

"That’s where we’re going now." he turns to wave at a group of nurses that are leaning around a counter. "Hey ladies!" He calls out to them.

"Hello, Gavin!" They all smile back at him.

"Barbara was just here looking for you. Operation C work out well?" a blonde girl asks.

Gavin laughs, “When  _doesn’t_ it work out well?” he asks rhetorically.

 

"Who’s your friend?" a girl wearing too much makeup asks while looking at me. They all focus their attention toward me and begin to smile and giggle to each other.

"This is Michael!" he answers, happily. "He was my partner in Operation C today, and now we’re moving on to Operation R."

How many goddamn codes does Gavin have!?

"Good call." one praises, "You’ll have to find Jordan though, I think it’s locked. So, are you and Michael on a date?"

"Now, now, ladies!" Gavin grins trying to stop their giggling, "Save all this chatter for G-day! We have to go now before Barbara finds me and skins me alive."

The girls all whine at the fact that he can’t stick around any longer to chat, but they smile as though they’re used to it. “Fine, but we want  _all_ the details, sweetie!”

"Oh, shut up!" He laughs at them. Even I can’t help but chuckle. It’s like they’re his older sisters or something.

"Bye, Gavin! Bye, Michael!" They call out after us when we begin to walk away. When they say my name they all start to giggle again.

This hospital is like a mixture between a zoo and high school.

"Sorry about that," Gavin turns to me. "They’re like teenager girls when it comes to dating and stuff."

"Are you friends with  _everybody_  here?” I ask him, trying to act annoyed, but it’s basically impossible. Especially when that grin spreads across his face for the millionth time.

"It seems that way, doesn’t it?"

"What is Operation R, and what is G-day?" I question. The amount of questions I’ve asked him since I’ve arrived here is probably through the roof. I still have no idea where we’re walking to though, and I’ve even picked up the habit of watching for Barbara in case she’s still searching for him.

"G-day is what I call talking to the girls. Whenever they have their lunch break I’ll go into the break room and gossip with them about their boyfriends and crap like that. It’s pretty stupid, but they love it."

We haven’t walked that far yet, but I recognize some hallways that I passed earlier. He doesn’t look at any signs or the arrows on the floor, which proves my theory correct. Gavin knows the exact layout of this  _entire_  hospital.

"Gavin!" A voice screams from down the hall.

I tense up, worried that Gavin’s in trouble. He immediately crouches down with his arms out, as though he’s prepared to catch something large. I look towards the person who yelled his name.

A male nurse begins running down the hall and jumps directly into Gavin’s arms, wrapping his arms and legs around him. Once they untangle themselves from one another and step away, I’m able to read the guys nametag. Jordan Cwierz.

"Hey, Gavin!" He greets him normally with a smile on his face. They act as though he didn’t just tackle him in the middle of a hospital.

"Jordan! Just the guy I needed to see! Operation C just went off without a hitch, so can I have the keys for Operation R?" Gavin asks him.

He nods and then digs through his pockets before handing Gavin a small bronze key. “There, I think that’s it.” He finally notices me standing there and says “Oh, hey, man. I’m Jordan.” We shake hands as I introduce myself.

"See ya later!" Gavin says to him, "If you see Barbara tell her I wasn’t here!"

"I got your back, man!" He calls back to him.

We continue walking to God knows where.

"You really are one of a kind, dude." I chuckle while shaking my head.

"Is that why you like me?" he smirks.

"I never said I liked you. I still sort of hate you." It’s technically not a lie. Gavin’s shinannagins still make me want to rip my hair out.

"I don’t believe you. Come on, just up this elevator!" He grabs me by the arm and drags me over to an elevator that just opened. There’s an old woman inside with greying hair.

"Okay! Okay! Calm down!" I yell at him, once we make it in.

"Hello, Mrs. Sharpe! How’s your son been doing?" He asks the woman.

"Oh, good day, Gavin. He’s slowly getting better, the doctors think he may wake up soon." She smiles at him softly.

"I hope so, then maybe he can meet Megan. I think she  _really_ likes him.” He grins. Mrs. Sharpe laughs and rolls her eyes.

"Oh, I hope so. She’s such a nice girl." The door opens and she says goodbye before leaving.

"Bye, Mrs. Sharpe!" He yells to her when the doors close again.

"I’m not even going to ask anymore."

"We’re almost there, Michael! Operation R is almost complete."

*

It’s not very long until we’re at a door, and Gavin’s unlocking it with the key Jordan gave him.

"The R stands for roof." He informs me, and then opens up the door immediately. I feel the fresh air hit me, and it sends a chill down my back.

"Holy shit, dude." I exclaim, as we walk forwards.

We’re literally standing on the roof of the hospital. Looking past the ledge, I can see the rest of the top of the building. We’re only ontop of a small portion if it. It’s not very windy up here, but it’s still a little cold considering the fact that we’re kind of damp from the water fight.

The sky doesn’t have a single cloud as far as I can see, and the sun is shining unbelievably bright. The weather around here is always crazy hot.

"Figured we could hang out up here to dry off and hide from Barbara." He grins, and then looks towards me, "You may begin your question asking."

Everytime Gavin and I are alone it seems like I have twenty thousand questions I need to ask. He must also be aware of that fact since he’s so sure that I have questions. I’m greatful for it though. Listening to Gavin talk and explain things can be entertaining (if you’re in the mood for it.)

"Why is Barbara so intent on finding you?"

"Because she knows I love to mess around with things. Don’t get the wrong impression though, she really is a lovely girl. Barb’s honestly one of my best friends, but she  _is_  a nurse too. She’s just trying to do her job.”

I nod, letting my brain process each piece of information. “So, there’s G-day, Operation R, and Operation C…” I  _think_ those are all the ones I’ve heard of so far. “Is that all of them?”

"No. There’s a lot more."

"How many?"

"How many letters are in the alphabet?"

I roll my eyes, while crossing my arms. “Twenty six, you moron.”

"Then, there are twenty six codes." He responds, easily. The roof is at least a _little_  safe due to the small concrete wall-type thing that goes all along the edge; which Gavin is leaning against. I want to tell him to get away from it, but I’m sure he’s been up here numerous times. That still doesn’t mean I’m going any closer though.

"Does everybody around here know what each code is?"

"Yeah, if they know me well enough."

That doesn’t narrow it down at all. “You seriously know  _everybody_  in this goddamn hospital!” I mutter.

"Yeah, probably. Sorry that it’s so hectic. This is basically what everyday is like." he muses. "But I love it. It’s fun."

"I hate to admit it, but it is pretty fun." There could seriously be a television show of just watching Gavin interact with people. "Why’d that guy jump in your arms?"

"Oh, Jordan? That’s just this thing we do. Another time, I was carrying a tray of food when he charged at me. I threw the whole thing to the floor in order to catch him."

"You’re an idiot." I smirk.

"How!?" He laughs again.

"You do such stupid things. We’re actually wet right now just because you had a  _water fight_  with a group of children. You’re a grown man, dude!” I joke. His laughter quiets down into giggles.

"Nah, that’s not stupid. That’s a laugh! Do you  _want_  to see me do something stupid?” He turns serious for a moment, his eyes begging me to challenge him.

"…I don’t know." I answer hesitantly.

He takes that as a yes, and hoists himself up onto the concrete ledge. “Gavin! What the fuck are you doing!?” I scream at him.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, he stands up and begins walking along it with his arms out to steady himself. An amused smile planted on his face the entire time.

"Get down from there, you fucking idiot!" I yell, but he doesn’t listen to my orders and just laughs.

"It’s not that far of a drop! I’d be totally fine, Michael!" He hops down from it easily, landing back onto the roof on his feet. "I just did it to scare you, the drop wouldn’t have even hurt me." He reassures.

I shake my head and glare at him. “If that drop didn’t kill you, I certainly would have.”

"Does that mean you’re worried about me?"

"Stop smiling like a retard." I glare, "I’d worry about anyone that’s stupid enough to do something like  _that_.”

"Sorry, I won’t do it again. I don’t want you to be upset, Michael." The look on his face shows genuine concern for me. As though my anger is more serious than him risking his life just for a joke.

He walks closer to me with a smile. “It’s like you’re the world’s most likable guy. Is there  _anybody_ in this hospital that doesn’t like you?”

"Mrs. Sharpe’s son might not like me. But then again he’s in a coma…" He says, while pondering the subject.

"Oh yeah, that was something else I wanted to ask about. He’s in a coma? What happened to him?" I only ask because I’m so sure that he knows.

"He got into a car accident a while back, but he’s supposed to wake up anyday now."

"Who’s Megan?"

"She’s one of the nurses we talked to on the way here. She has such a crush on Mrs. Sharpe’s son. I think when he wakes up they’re going to get married."

"Yes, because  _that’s_  how the real world works.”

"Weirder things have happened. For example, we just met  _yesterday_  and we’ve already went through a battlefield, took care of multiple children, I went to work with you, had our first kiss, and you admitted that you’d be worried if I fell off a roof.”

"Do you want to know how much I hate you?" I growl.

He gives me a cocky grin, before simply cupping my face in his hands then brushing his lips against mine. He intends for it to be a simple and quick kiss, but I place my hands on his waist and pull him closer to me when I sense that he’s about to move away. We’re kissing on the fucking  _roof of a hospital_. But at least it’s a better location than the cramped janitors closet.

He pulls away slightly and I open my eyes. His face is just inches away from mine, and the only reason I don’t just ignore him and pull him towards me again is because of that shit-eating grin on his face.

"I feel like everytime we kiss you secretly want to punch me in the face." He murmurs, smirking.

"I feel like everytime we  _talk_  I want to punch you in the face.” I mutter. He smiles wider before bringing his lips to mine again.

He might be the most insufferable prick in the world, but he’s a damn good kisser.

I’m only vaugly aware of his fingers curling through my hair as he pulls me closer. He’s quick to respond when I slip my tounge between his lips, and he allows me access into his mouth. I don’t know how long we stand there making out like teenagers, but it was probably the best part of this day so far.

"Come on," I say, after removing my hands from his waist, "We should get back. Barbara’s probably worried sick about you by now."

He sighs before reluctantly agreeing. “Fine…” he whines. I laugh and hit him over the head softly. We interlock fingers as we walk off through the door and back into the hospital.

But  _before_  we leave, I sneak a quick glance over the ledge of the roof.

Gavin lied earlier about the drop.

The fall would have  _easily_  killed him. 


	7. Chapter 7

"Hey, Jenny! Do you know where Barbara is?" Gavin stopped to ask a teenage girl. She looked up from her cell-phone at the mention of her name. She was wearing a pink sweater, and had her long brown hair into two low ponytails.

We’ve been walking down the hallway in search for the blonde nurse, but so far she was no where in sight.

  
"Oh, hey, Gavin. Yeah, I think she’s on her break right now." She answers him, she takes a quick glance at our interlocked fingers and a small smile warms her face.

"Thanks!"

"So what was her name?" I ask him as we walk onward.

We’ve been playing this game now since we left the roof. Gavin would greet/wave to somebody and I’d ask them who they were, and he’d tell me the basic’s on them. Sometimes he went more in depth, but others were more simple as not to bore me.

"That’s Jenny. Do you remember those two older gentlemen you talked to earlier, Gregory and Phillip? Well that’s Phillip’s granddaughter. She’s a sweet girl, and sometimes we play video games together when she comes to visit."

I nod slowly, trying to memorize Jenny’s face to Gavin’s description. I’ve been attempting to remember everybody that Gavin’s introduced me too. It’s fucking impossible.

 

*

We finally make it to what seems to be a cafeteria. There’s lots of tables, and lots of people eating food off of trays.

"There she is! Barbara!" Gavin hollers. He runs while pulling my arm, attempting to drag me faster toward her.

My eyes finally land on her when she turns her head around to find the source of the yelling. She’s eating, what appears to be, a bowl of soup at a table by herself. As soon as she realizes that it’s us, a sour look crosses her face and she stands up.

"Gavin! I was worried sick about you, where the hell were you!?"

"Sorry, Barb. Michael and I were playing with the kids and stuff."

She sighs, trying not to explode with anger. That’s usually how I feel when listening to Gavin speak. “How much of a mess did you make in the Children’s Ward today?”

"There’s not a mess at all! Everything’s tippity top!" He grins.

I’m sure that the huge puddle of water in the middle of the floor would beg to differ.

"I have a hard time believing you." She mutters, then turns to me, "And  _you_! You told me that you had no idea where Gavin was!”

"To be fair, I  _really_  didn’t know where he was. I was still trying to find him when you attacked me in the hallway.” I raise one hand up in surrender, since my other hand is still in Gavins.

"You can’t tell on us though, Barb. Nurse Helen will absolutely murder me if she finds out I did it again." he pleads. Barbara glares at him. "…If you tell on me, I’ll tell Doctor Jackie that  _you’re_ the one always drawing nobs on the staff room’s white board.”

Her eyes widen, “You wouldn’t dare.” They give each other hard stares for a few minutes, until she finally gives up and mutters “Fine… Did you at least have fun with Operation C?”

"You should have been there, Barb! It was bloody awesome! We had enough water to fill an ocean!" he gushes.

I expect her to respond with annoyance, but she laughs and says “Guess I’ll have to  _sea_  it later.”

"That one was just terrible." he shakes his head, but laughs along with her.

Even when people are mad at Gavin, they still love him.

"Why are you sitting here alone?" I ask her, while looking around the room at the other people. Gavin sits down next to Barbara and I sit across from them.

"Everybody got sick of my jokes and left me." she frowns.

"Still making those stupid bowl puns?" Gavin chuckles.

"Yeah, of course! Look!" She holds up the bowl of soup so I’m able to see the label across it. "Bowl Appetite!" She reads it out loud for me, hardly able to contain herself with giggles.

"She’s made that joke for about three weeks now."

I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket, and pull it out. The name across it reads “Geoff.” What the fuck could he want me for  _now_?

"Sorry, guys. Give me a second." I say to Barbara and Gavin before answering the phone. "Hello?"

"Where are you too? I just called your house like three times." He asks.

"Why the hell didn’t you think to just call my cell phone?" Gavin and Barbara are watching me talk on the phone. "You guys are nosy as fuck." I mutter to them, they both giggle like children.

"Who’s nosy as fuck? Who’s there with you?" Geoff pries. Apparently everybody I know is ‘ _nosy as fuck_.’

"Oh my God,  _why_  did you even call me in the first place?” I groan loudly. “Just get to the damn point, Geoff!”

Gavin perks up immediately, “You’re talking to Geoff!? Let me talk to him!”

"No, Gavin, fuck off!"

"Gavin’s there!?" Geoff gasps, "I wanna talk to him!"

Jesus fucking Christ.

"Just take the fucking phone." I thrust it into his hands, and he grabs it like a greedy child. His eyes filled with excitement at the thought of talking to Geoff again.

I try not to focus on Gavin as he speaks into the phone, because he’s so damn happy about it. And it sort of pisses me off. How can one person be  _so_  happy _all_  the time?

I glance at him for a quick second though before turning to Barbara. “Is he always like this?”

"Like what?"

"Obnoxiously happy. I don’t think I’ve seen him express any emotion other than that."

"Well, you  _have_  only know him for two days.” She points out, “But yeah, he’s always been like that. Gavin radiates joy. It’s just the kind of person he is.” She smiles softly while watching her friend.

"Are you sure that you guys don’t slip drugs into his food or something?" I joke.

She laughs, “Nah, I think we’ve slipped sleeping pills into his meals every once in a while though.”

That’s not hard to imagine.

Barbara mouth forms into a smirk. “What?”

"Are you and Gavin a thing now?" She asks, while shoveling soup into her mouth in a very non-lady like way.

"Oh, shut up." I mutter.

She just grins wider, “You guys hang out on the roof?”

"Yeah…why?" I haven’t know Barbara for very long (the same amount of time I’ve know Gavin), but I already know that she’s sly in the same way that a gossipy teenage girl is.

"That’s Gavin’s favourite place. He doesn’t let anybody go up there with him. You must be  _pretty_  special…” She whispers, in order to not attract his attention.

She could be screaming it and I don’t think he would hear anyways. He’s too enthralled with his conversation with Geoff. “Yeah, and tell Rosie I said hi! And say hi to Griffon to me as well!” He beams into the phone. Gavin only met a few Roosterteeth employees during his short trip yesterday.

I can feel my cheeks heat up, “Just eat your damn soup.”

She grins at my embarrassment, then lifts up a spoonful towards me, “Bowl Appetite!”

She really  _does_  make that joke a lot.

"Oh my God, shut the fuck up." I roll my eyes, and knock the spoonful of soup away so that it splashes all over the table "Bowl voyage.".

She throws her head back and laughs loudly. Everybody in the room looks over at us, and I make a mental note to never make a pun around Barbara again.

"Here!" Gavin passes me the phone, "He wants to talk to you again."

I hold the phone to my ear, and I can’t even get a word out because Geoff starts talking immediately. “Dude, do you have any idea how much people love the new Slender Rage Quit!?”

"What? We already put that out?"

"Fuck yeah, dude!" Geoff’s voice cracks slightly through his excitement, "I watched it last night after you sent it to me, and that thing is fucking hilarious! So I had to put it up as soon as possible."

"That’s awesome, but why’d you have to call me and tell me that? Couldn’t you have just waited until I came into work tomorrow?" Sometimes Geoff can make no sense. Maybe he’s drunk right now.

"No, because I have a plan."

"Oh, shit." I groan.

"Don’t worry, it’s a very good plan."

"I’m still worried."

"The fans all absolutely  _love_ Gavin. So I was thinking maybe we could have him-“

  
"No!" I yell into the phone, "No! No! No!"

"Oh, come on, Michael! I’m not saying he’d work here full time or anything! I’m saying he could occasionally do a Rage Quit video with you sometimes; the fans are eating this shit up! You guys make a great team."

"Fuck you, Geoff. Fuck you  _so_   _hard._ ”

"I already asked Gavin and he said he’d love to do it."

"What!?" I glare at the accused boy, who’s grinning at me knowingly. "Gavin, why would you agree to this!?"

He shrugs with an amused smirk, “Yesterday was fun, and I liked meeting everybody at Roosterteeth. Playing games with you is a laugh.”

"You’re a prick." I mutter.

"Don’t be such a dramatic bitch," Geoff pleads, "We’ll just get him to come film them whenever he wants to. He says he’s pretty busy there at the hospital anyways, so he’d only be able to do it every so often."

Did he say that? I really should have been eavesdropping on Gavin’s half of that conversation instead of arguing with Barbara about roofs and puns. What could Gavin be doing at the hospital that’s so important. Y’know,  _besides_ cheering everybody up.

Playing Slender with Gavin was a lot more fun than I’d ever admit though, and I don’t blame the fans for thinking it was hilarious. Goddamn it.

"Fine, you know what? Whatever. You’re the boss, you can do whatever the hell you want."

"Really? You’re okay with it though?"

"Yeah, sure. You have my blessing or whatever."

"Sweet. You’re the best, man!" Geoff praises, giddy with happiness.

"Yeah, yeah, shut the hell up. I’ll see you tomorrow."

"Can you bring Gavin with you tomorrow? He told me he doesn’t have a license, so he wouldn’t have a way down."

Gavin’s coming to the office  _tomorrow_!? In the short amount of time he and Geoff spoke, they discussed  _a lot_.

"Fuck. Fine." I’m to the point of just not caring anymore.

He starts giggling evilly at my annoyance. It reminds me of that time we played Mario and let Geoff control the Wii-U remote. “You’re the best. See you later, dude!”

I put away my phone and look up at Gavin, who’s trying to force a look of innocence.

"What’s wrong, Michael?" He asks.

"Go fuck yourself."


	8. Chapter 8

The next two months were filled with me taking Gavin to the office with me. Everybody just loved his company there, and they kept wanting him to come back. We wouldn’t even record Rage Quits all that often, Gavin would just come to have fun and talk to people.

It was like he was friends with everybody now. He was the king of annoying people though. Gus was constantly yelling at his stupid theories and calling him an idiot, and Burnie would always laugh so hard at him that his glasses would fog up.

He and Ray became close friends, and he’d even let him record Guides with him. Which, due to Gavin’s stupidity, lead to their nicknames for each other: X-Ray and Vav.

He’d sometimes be a part of AHWU, and would do crazy and funny things in the background with us while Geoff and Jack tried to film it normally.

Burnie was even talking to me about seeing if he wanted to be on an episode of the podcast.

And Geoff was right, the fans thought he was hilarious. All the comments on the videos he was in would be requesting more Gavin or complementing him on how idiotically funny he was.

When Geoff offered to pay him, he refused, and said that just being there and having fun was payment enough. I’d sometimes catch Geoff sneak money into Gavin’s coat pockets when he wasn’t looking. “The poor kid is doing the same things we pay the rest of you idiots to do. Of course I’m going to pay him for it.” he explained to me once.

He soon just became a regular around the office, and everyone simply expected him to be there.

I’d wake up and drive the extra ten minutes to the hospital just to get the idiot, pick him up, listen to him blather about utter nonsense the whole drive to the office, and sometimes after work we’d go somewhere and hang out.

I’d still be internally conflicted between wanting to kill Gavin and wanting to kiss him. We’d every so often go on pointless little dates. If you could even call them that since it was just going to the movies or random shit.

But Gavin loved it, and would even count us going through the Mcdonald’s drive through as a date, because he’s an idiot like that.

My phone would be filled with constant text messages from Gavin, saying stupid things to me at any hour of the day.

Things were pretty stable like that for a while. And it was nice.

_Michael Jones: Where are you right now?_

_Gavin Free: Children’s Ward, watching Tangled_

_Michael Jones: Seriously? You’re watching Disney princess movies?_

_Gavin Free: The girls begged me to watch it with them, I couldn’t say no!_

_Michael Jones: You’re a moron._

_Gavin Free: You’re the Flynn Rider to my Rapunzel, Michael. <3_

_Michael Jones: Wow. You are seriously the biggest idiot I’ve ever met._

_Gavin Free: LMAO_

_Michael Jones: We haven’t hung out in a while, wanna do something tonight?_

_Gavin Free: Sure! The movie’s almost over anyways, where do you want to go?_

_Michael Jones: We could hang out at my place_

_Gavin Free: You slut ;P_

_Michael Jones: Not like that, you idiot. I meant we could play some video games, or watch a movie that doesn’t involve princesses with magic hair_

_Gavin Free: Don’t diss Rapunzel. But yeah of course, come get me please?_

_Michael Jones: Leaving now, moron._

_Gavin Free: <3 :)_

_Michael Jones: Shut the fuck up._

About an hour or two later I’m on my couch, watching some stupid action movie with Gavin. I’m sitting at one end, while he’s lying down with his legs sprawled out over the top of mine. I rest my hands on his legs, subconsciously drawing soft circles on his ankles with my fingers.

He began talking nonstop when the movie first started, so I’ve missed the beginning and by now I have no idea what’s happening in it. The plot probably wouldn’t have made sense even if I paid attention. It’s mostly just guns, car crashes, and explosions.

He’s finally quieted down though, and I don’t think he’s said anything for about five minutes. Which is a pretty big accomplishment for him.

"Hey, Gav?" I turn away from the movie to look at him. His head is against the arm stand, and his eyes are closed shut. He’s sound asleep.

He looks so peaceful when he sleeps, so I decide not to wake him up and instead lift up his legs from my lap softly as not to disturb him. He can just sleep here tonight.

I move my arms under his neck and knees, then hoist him up so that I’m carrying him bridal style. He’s light as a fucking feather. I’m not going to make him sleep on the couch, he’s the guest here, and I’m not an asshole.

It’s a short trip to my bedroom, and I lay him down on my not-made bed. He’s wearing a jacket, so I try to take that off as gently as possible so that he’ll be more comfortable. I see his eyelids begin to flutter just as I get the jacket off of him.

"Michael?" He murmurs.

"Shhh, go to sleep, Gav."

For once in his life he actually listens to me, and closes his eyes. He’s asleep before I’m even able to lift the blankets over him.

I’ve never seen him so quiet and peaceful. I’m so used to him grinning widely, chatting my ear off, tripping over his own two feet like a clumsy moron, asking stupid questions, pissing people off for his own amusement, explaining idiotic theories, and throwing his head back with laughter all in that stupid British accent. It’s so abnormal to see him like this, but I like it all the same. He looks almost as though he’s a completely different person.

I smile softly and press a kiss to his forehead.

Fuck.

I think I’m falling for Gavin Free.

We literally only met two months ago, and I’m already thinking about cheesy bullshit like this? Goddamn, this guy’s really turning me soft. And I don’t like it. I shake my head in an unsuccessful effort to get those thoughts out of me; I’m not going to worry about this crap now. But the feeling still lingers in the back of my mind.

I take his jacket with me back out into the living room, and fold it up messily. I can hear objects shaking around in the pockets. Leave it to Gavin to carry around a bunch of worthless crap with him all the time.

I make up a bed on the couch, and fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.

*

"Wake up, Michael!" I hear a loud British voice shriek loudly, and something crashes on top of me.

I open my eyes to see Gavin sitting on top of me, a huge grin on his face as he tries to wake me up.

"Get the fuck off me!" I groan, and push him off of me easily. He topples to the floor with a loud thud. The people living in the apartment below me and probably not pleased.

"No, Michael! Get up! Let’s make breakfast! How about some pancakes?" He sits on my stomach again.

"What time is it?" I question, I keep my eyes closed in a vain attempt to fall back asleep while talking to him.

"Six. Now come on! Pancakes!"

"Six in the morning?! You’re insane!"

"Come on, Michael. Please?" He begs. I peak an eye open to see that he’s pouting. Like a fucking five year old or a sad puppy.

"Jesus Christ." I finally give in, and get up. But not before throwing him to the ground again.

He just lets out a laugh before jumping back up. “Hurry up, our pancakes are going to get cold.”

"You already made them?" I question, trying to rub the sleep out of my eyes.

"Yeah, I woke up like an hour ago." Where Gavin gets all this energy from I will never know.

We walk into the kitchen and I see the table has two plates of pancakes on them. One only has two or three on it, and the other has about six or seven. Gavin greedily runs over to his (the one with six or seven) and sits down, then starts shoveling them into his mouth. “Eat up! I worked hard on these.” He says between mouthfuls.

I roll my eyes, “When did you turn into my wife?”

He just grins, and continues on eating.

I end up finishing before Gavin, since he has so much more on his plate than me. He eats like a pig, just stuffing as much into his mouth as possible so that his cheeks are practically overflowing.

"I should go fold up the blankets that I used on the couch last night. Be right back." I smirk at his strange eating habits.

He says something that sounds like “Okay, Michael” but his mouth is so filled with pancakes that I can’t be certain.

I roll my eyes and chuckle. He’s such a kid.

While in the other room, he continues to have a conversation with me despite the fact that we have to yell in order to hear each other. Yup, my neighbours definitely hate me now.

"Do you have to work today?"

"No."

"Oh, that sucks. Well we should go out and have fun anyways. Are there any movies playing at the theater today? We could go to one and then get lunch afterwards."

"Sounds good, dude."

While picking up one of the blankets Gavin’s jacket falls from the couch and onto the floor. I pick it up easily, but the pockets must have been open because a few things fall out and scatter along the floor. Among the other objects are about twenty pieces of random candy. “Goddamn it.” I mutter. I’m still tired, so bending over to pick up Gavin’s crap off the floor doesn’t sound too appealing.

I let out a frustrated sigh and do it anyways. Just more proof to add to my list of how Gavin is a childish idiot. He literally carries candy around with him in his pocket. While picking that up, I look at the other things that fell out.

Among them is a ring of keys. Probably to rooms in the hospital that Gavin’s not allowed in. The thought of him stealing keys so that he can sneak into rooms makes me chuckle to myself.

The next thing I see is a yellow transparent pill bottle. I feel my eyebrows furrow in confusion as I pick it up to examine it.

"What the fuck?" I murmur to myself. It’s filled about half-way with pills.

"I think the new Iron Man movie is still playing, I haven’t got to see it yet. Maybe we could go to that." I hear Gavin yell from the other room, but I don’t pay any attention to him.

"Gavin D. Free" The label on it reads, along with other medical mumbo jumbo that I don’t understand. I’ve never understood any labels on medicine, but I knew well enough that this wasn’t something you’d buy over the counter at a drug store.

"Michael?" he calls out. I stand up, still looking at the bottle just as Gavin walks into the room.

I look up at him, “What the hell is this, Gav?”

His eyes dart down to whats in my hands, and I see his eyebrows rise in alarm. “Uh…” He stumbles over his words, “It’s for h-headaches. I get headaches a lot. Y’know…My brains a little crazy.” He attempts to chuckle, while trying to wave it off.

His laughter has never sounded more forced to me.

"Gavin." I state, which causes the smile to slip off of his face. "Answer me honestly, please."

He just stares at me for the longest time, and I refuse to give in.

I don’t mean to sound like a parent scolding their child, but I’m honestly concerned now. Gavin’s never looked worried or nervous before, and he’s bad at trying to play it off as though it’s nothing.

After a few moments of silence he realizes he’s not going to win this. Gavin finally looks away and lets out a sigh. “They’re uh…” he gulps nervously, “They’re pain pills.”

"What would you need pain pills for? And  _don’t_  say headaches.”

He looks me straight in the eye, and I see the hesitance in them before he finally whispers three words.

"I have cancer."


	9. Chapter 9

"W…" it comes out as a whisper, but then I yell, "What!?"

He doesn’t repeat himself, he just watches my reaction.

I feel like my entire world has just come crashing down on top of me. I can’t even think properly. Each thought that comes rushing into my head is just trailed off due to the fact that I can barely wrap my head around Gavin’s last words.

I know my eyes are as wide as they can be, and my eyebrows are scrunched together. Whether in confusion, anger, or shock, I’ll never know.

"Are you serious!? You better not be fucking joking, Gavin." I lie. I want nothing more than for his face to show that grin that’s become so familiar to me. Then see him throw his head back with laugh and yell ‘Gotcha!’ But his face just twists up in painful mixture of concern and guilt.

"I’m not joking, Michael." It’s the most serious I’ve ever seen Gavin.

 

"No…no no no no…" I murmur to myself, the words pouring out on their own without my control.

"Are you okay?" He questions softly, moving forward to put a comforting arm on my shoulder.

"Am  _I_ okay!? You’re asking  _me_ that!?” I yell. My volume causes him to jump and step back a little, his arm falls away. “You’re lying.  _Please_  tell me you’re lying, Gavin. What the fuck!”

My brain is just a constant buzz with thoughts, feelings, and words running everywhere. But the main thing that rings through is Gavin’s words. ‘I have cancer.’ Cancer.

"I’m not lying." He states, speaking with slow caution, as though I’m about to explode like a creeper.

"It’s not true." It  _can’t_  be true.

Gavin sighs softly, while looking down at the floor, then lets out a chuckle, “It makes sense doesn’t it? I live at a bloody hospital, for crying out loud.”

I’m reminded of when we first met, and the only time I ever asked him why he was constantly in the hospital. I remember the pause he took before answering, and I was stupid enough to believe that it was just because he was upset about his “grandfather”.

"You don’t have a sick grandfather, do you?" I whisper. My voice can’t speak at a volume any higher at this point.

A sad smile graces his features, and he shakes his head, “No.”

"And…And you know everybody there so well because…"

I don’t need to continue, because he nods. I put my hands up to the sides of my head. The room is spinning and sitting down sounds good right about now. But I don’t take the opportunity.

"Cancer…" I’m barely able to whisper the word. I see Gavin flinch a little at it. My voice comes back to me, "But you don’t look sick at all. You look totally fine."

"Appearances can be deceiving… I’m not all that clumsy, I just get really weak every so often."

I feel an extremely painful stab of guilt when I’m reminded of all the times Gavin’s tripped or fell over, and I’d laugh at him and call him a moron.

He seems to realize this, and says “I don’t blame you though for laughing when I fall. It  _is_ pretty funny.” He smirks at that last part. I hate that he’s able to smile. I hate that he’s able to pretend that it’s all okay. It’s not okay.

He continues on, “And I’m pretty pale too…because I’m anemic. And I bruise really easily. Remember when you pushed me into the wall yesterday?”

I nod slowly, and he lifts up his shirt to reveal his stomach.

"Holy shit, Gavin."

His ribs are coloured purple and black, and I’m soon forced to look away because my guilt raises to dangerous levels.

"It’s not your fault. You didn’t know. Usually I’m more careful about not getting hurt. But…" He trails off, which forces me to look up at his face again. "It’s easy to forget when I’m around you."

Gavin has cancer.

"…You have cancer." I whisper. Those words mean so much, yet my brain refuses to think they mean anything at all.

His face scrunches up with an emotion I can’t be bothered to place at the moment. “Yeah.” he whispers. “Leukemia.”

A new word. A new surge of panic. Hearing Gavin admit these things, helping me place the pieces together, just makes it more real. It’s just slapping me in the face that this is actually happening. This is the truth. And I’ve been blind to it this entire time.

"You…You’re going to be okay though, right!?" I question loudly.

"…I don’t know."

"Yes you do."

He takes a breath, “Everybody dies eventually, Michael.”

That might have been the biggest blow of all. “Dying!?” I somehow manage to say it without yelling, but the impact is still the same. Saying it myself makes it worse, and I wish I didn’t have to speak at all. But I’m too desperate to know. To scream. To punch something. To demand that it  _not_  be true.

How was I so oblivious to all of this. All those signs staring at me straight in the face.

Gavin’s usual grin forms across his face, “Everybody has an expiration date, Michael. Mine’s just a little sooner.”

And then I snap.

"What the fuck do you mean, Gavin!? Are you fucking insane!? How could you not tell me something like this!? How  _fucking_  long were you going to go until you finally decided to tell me ‘Oh, Mi-cool, by the way I’m’  _fucking dying_.” I scream the last two words as loud as I can. Mocking him in my horrible attempt at a British accent.

His eyes widen, but he doesn’t say anything or react in any other way. “I didn’t plan on ever telling you?” He puts an upward inflection on the end, so it comes out sounding like a question. And if I wasn’t blinded by my sudden anger I’d notice the horrible guilt that’s smothering his face.

"Are you fucking kidding me, you fucking asshole!?" I’ve said the word fucking more times than I can count at the moment, but it helps get across my rage at the situation, "You just weren’t going to tell me?  _At all_!?”

He doesn’t look me in the eyes. “I feel terrible about it now, Michael.”

"I hope you do!" I scream, "You have cancer. You’re  _dying._ And you weren’t going to tell me! I know we aren’t actually dating or whatever…but  _fuck_! I thought I was  _somewhat_ important to you. Cause you were pretty damn important to me, Gav!”

He still doesn’t raise his voice or get angry at first, even though I’m calling him out in the worst way possible. “I didn’t mean for it to go so far. I didn’t think we’d get as close as we did in such a short amount of time. But I just…I  _really_  liked you, Michael. And you made it so easy to forget. You were healthy, and safe.

"Every person I meet in that hospital is either sick, or dying, or has  _relatives_  that are dying. And it was so refreshing to meet someone that  _wasn’t like that_. Someone that didn’t know how sick  _I_ was. And it was so hard…

He takes a breath to steady his voice, which has begun to crack, “It was so hard to be close to you, meet all your friends, go to RoosterTeeth… Because  _I’ll_  never have that. I’ll never be away from the hospitals, or the patients, or the  _cancer._ ”

All I can do is look at him. My own anger fades away, as I feel his rising. He’s not yelling nearly as loud as I was, but Gavin being angry isn’t something I’ve experienced yet, and it renders me speechless.

"Can’t I just be selfish  _once_ , Michael!? Can’t I just get away from it all and pretend that everything’s alright? That I’m not a sick kid that’s been living in a tiny hospital room for most of my life? That I’m just a normal lad with a normal job, and a normal boyfriend, and a normal  _life_!?”

He’s out of breath by the end of it, and I can see his eyes are a little glossy.

"Gavin…I…" I walk forward, but he takes a step back. He’s breathing deeply, trying to catch his breath after all that.

The silence in the room is deafening.

He finally speaks up again, “I’m sorry.” This time it’s in a normal, calm, emotionless tone, which is even worse than the anger. He grabs his coat from it’s place on the floor, then leaves the room. I flinch when I hear the door slam closed, but I can’t move.

I can’t do anything.

I can’t feel anything.

How did I not piece this all together on my own? It was being shoved in my face the entire time, and I was idiotic enough to just brush it off. All those times that I’d catch Gavin making a pained face, and ask him if he was okay, then he’d just put on a smile and say “Yeah, of course, Michael.”

What the hell would I have done if we were hanging out alone and he just collapsed? I wouldn’t have known what was going on! He could have died because of  _me_.

My brain buzzes with thoughts that every time that I talked to Gavin could have been the last, and I wouldn’t have even knew it.

I regain control of my own body once again, but it’s probably not a good thing. Because the first thing I do is grab something off the table next to me and throw it at the wall as hard as I can.

It must have been glass, because it shatters into a million different pieces. The noise rings through my ears and I can still hear it afterwards.

I bury my face into my hands and try to control my breathing.

Gavin has cancer.

Gavin is dying.

I know that I’m not actually angry at him. I didn’t really have a right to know when we first met considering the fact that I hated him. It wasn’t any of my business. Yes, I wish that he would have told me, because then…

Then what? How would I have reacted if he had been the one to tell me himself? How would I have reacted if I didn’t find the pill bottle and demand an answer from him?

How would I have reacted if I didn’t know at all, then had to find out through Barbara that Gavin passed away.

My sight’s gone fuzzy and the entire room is spinning in a way that makes me motion sick. I manage to walk into my room on weak legs and collapse onto the bed that Gavin was sleeping in just a few hours ago.

Jesus Christ.

I’ve only known the guy for a few weeks! How could I let myself get so close to somebody so quickly!? Every time I’d see him I’d just get knots in my stomach and that smile would beg to crawl across my face.

It’s just not fucking fair!

Pulling up next to the hospital to pick him up, and he’d wave crazily, jumping up and down like a psychopath. “Hi Michael, did you have a nice morning?” He’d ask in that boyishly innocent voice.

Goddamn it.

I’ve never felt so conflicted with emotions my entire life. I’m struck between being angry beyond belief, and wanting to find Gavin and shake him uncontrollably. I’ve never wanted to be told that I was being pranked so bad in my life.

But I keep seeing Gavin’s face, so uncharacteristically grave.

And now he’s gone. I don’t know if it was the guilt of getting angry, or the frustration towards the situation that had caused him to storm out.

But I have to go talk to him. I wasn’t lying when I told him that he was important to me. I need to talk to him about this whole ordeal without getting mad and screaming like a lunatic.

But before I can finalize my decision to find him, exhaustion overtakes me, and I fall asleep.


	10. Chapter 10

The sound of my phone ringing startles me so much in my sleep that I’m immediately awoken and sitting up in my bed.

I’m also struck with confusion due to the fact that my face feels wet, as though I’ve been crying in my sleep. I wipe my cheeks and eyes with my sleeve, cursing myself out in my head for being such a pussy.

Judging by the amount of light in the room, I can only assume that it’s late evening, and I’ve slept all day. I have a throbbing headache, and that stupid ring-tone isn’t helping at all. Gavin thought it would be funny to change the ring-tone on my phone to “Doctor Jones” by Aqua.

“ _Doctor Jones, Jones, calling Doctor Jones, Doctor Jones, Doctor Jones, wake up now! Wake up now!_ " the music blares through the room, echoing off the walls.

I groan loudly at how obnoxious that song is, especially when it’s telling you to wake up. I manage to pull it out of my pocket and press answer without even looking at the name.

"What?" I growl into the speaker.

"Whoa. Holy shit, man. You feeling okay?" It’s Ray. Once hearing the aggression in my voice, he turns both hesitant and mocking at the same time.

"Sure." I mutter, "What do you want?"

"I was just checking up on you. Jack said he called earlier and got no response, then Geoff called your house phone and still didn’t get any response. You drunk, man?"

"No, I’ve just been sleeping all day."

“ _All_  day?” He questions, and I can sense the smirk forming on his face, “You been sleeping with Gavin?”

"No, you dipshit."

"Hey, man. No need to turn hostile…Something happen between you and Vav?"

I’m silent for a few moments, still trying to wake myself up after such a horrible sleep, “You could say that.”

 

I feel like the whole night I was sleeping with an elephant sitting on top of me. My stress levels are at a maximum high because there’s so much running through my head and I know I shouldn’t just be sitting here in my bed on the phone with Ray. But there’s nothing I want to do more than go back to sleep and pretend none of this had ever happened.

"Well, where’s he to now?"

"I don’t know, I’m going to go find him in a few minutes though."

"Okay, well keep me updated. I worry about the little guy sometimes."

"You worry about him?"

"Well, yeah. He seems sort of fragile, doesn’t he?"

"I guess." I take a deep breath to collect my thoughts, "I’ll uh…I’ll talk to you later, man."

*

It was dark by the time I made it to the hospital. It was a nice day out though, the sky was filled with stars and the moon was full. I didn’t pay any attention to such minor details though. There were more pressing matters at hand. Like the broken boy on the rooftop.

I attempt to muster up all of my courage in a deep breath, then open up the door to the roof.

The silence rings through my ears, and I try not to think about anything other than finding the Brit. I close the door behind me, and the noise attracts somebody’s attention.

"Hey, Michael." He says softly. My eyes are directed towards him sitting on the ledge of the roof, his back to me, and his legs are dangling over the edge.

"Hey. Barbara said I might be able to find you up here." I walk over to stand next to him, resting my arms against the ledge, leaning all my weight against it.

I’m not brave enough to sit up there with him. I don’t have a fear of heights, but everybody has their limit. This hospital just so happens to be mine.

He doesn’t look at me, and just keeps staring out into the dark sky thoughtfully. I do the same, and we sit there in a comforting silence for a few seconds.

He chuckles softly, I look up at him to see a slight smile playing across his lips. “Did you know that about a year ago I had hair down to here.” He puts his hand to the middle of his chest to indicate how long it was.

I let a breathy laugh when I picture Gavin with hair that long, “Are you serious?”

"Yeah, I sorta looked like a fem. Barbara used to sneak into my room during the night and braid it just to bug me." He smirks while reminiscing.

"Why would you grow out your hair that long in the first place?"

"One of the little girls from the Children’s Ward had lost her hair due to chemotherapy. She’d refuse to talk to anybody and would just sit in her hospital room upset about it. The doctors and nurses were so concerned about her.

But one day  _I_  talked to her. Just went into her room and asked her what her name was, asked her about pointless things like animals and television shows…Asked her why she wouldn’t talk to anybody.” He goes quiet after that.

"What’d she say?"

"She hated not having hair. She told me that all of her friends had such long pretty hair, and she missed hers. So, I offered her a deal since my hair was already pretty long at the time. If she stopped locking herself up in her room all hours of the day, I’d grow out my hair and then when it was long enough I’d cut it off and get it made into a wig for her."

"That’s such a Gavin Free thing to do." I smile, "You’re really willing to do anything to make others happy, aren’t you?"

"Usually. Except when I’m a selfish prick." He mutters, tearing down the happy-go-lucky facade we’ve momentarily created.

“ _I’m_  the selfish prick. I’m sorry I flipped out back at my apartment. It was just a huge shock, and I wasn’t expecting it.”

"It’s fine, Michael. I’ve had to break that news to numerous amounts of people. I know that it’s difficult to process and easier to just get angry."

"It’s no excuse. You really  _are_  important to me, Gavin. I didn’t mean to yell at you like that.”

"No worries."

I decide to change the subject. “So, what happened with the little girl?”

“…She passed away about two months later.”

I look up at him, but he still has on that blank expressionless face. He’s just staring forwards, not looking at anything in particular.

“Holy shit, Gav…I’m so sorry…” I whisper.

“It’s alright. That’s just the way things are around here, you know? People live. People die. I’m just on the waiting list.”

"…So you actually  _are_  dying.” I state, being as blunt as possible. The more I hear it the more it sinks in. But hearing it out loud helps and makes me feel as though I’m not going to lash out again.

"Yup." He smirks, "Could be any day. They told me about a year ago that I probably only had about a certain amount of time left. But I didn’t want to know the date. It could be five years from now, or five days. I’ll never know until it happens. I like it better that way."

"…Spoilers." I mutter the word to myself, while deep in thought.

"Yeah." he murmurs, "Always hated those."

The air is chilly, and it makes me wish I wore something more than a t-shirt. Gavin’s wearing his jacket that was in my apartment this morning, and it reminds me of the argument we had.

“But don’t you have options though? Chemotherapy? It’s not as hopeless as you make it sound, right? You have  _some_  chance, don’t you?” I’m desperate for any kind of good side to this.

He sighs loudly, as though he’s had to give this same spiel a million times before, “That’s the thing, Michael. I don’t  _want_ to go through chemo again. I hate it. I don’t want to die while connected to a bunch of tubes, with no hair, being poked and prodded with needles and junk.”

“But you have to at least  _try_ , Gav!”

“What’s the point?”

“ _The point_  is that you could be alive and healthy.” My voice is slightly louder than Gavin’s, but probably just because I’m trying as hard as I can to not start yelling at him. I don’t want this moment to be ruined by us arguing with each other and storming out. I need to find out what’s going on in that little British head.

“Okay, say if I  _did_ get treatment, and I was healthy afterwords. Then what? My  _entire life_  is this hospital and the people in it. I don’t have a job, or a house, or a car, or money, or family. Cancer took all of that away.” His voice begins to rise a little but he’s still calm.

“You make it sound as though you’re a lost cause. You’re not alone in this, Gav.”

He goes quiet again, before whispering. “My parents left me.”

The words settle into the silence, and before I can react he continues speaking, “They couldn’t handle the stress of having a sick kid, so as soon as I turned eighteen they put me on a plane and shipped me off to America. Gave some bull crap excuse about how the medical opportunities over here are better. Then while I was away they had another kid to replace me.”

"Holy fuck…" I curse quietly under my breath. Who could do that to their own son?

"Yeah. It hurt pretty bad. But I got over it. I’m usually a pretty happy person anyways, so I’d just try to forget about it and attempt to live as though everything was fine. Meeting and befriending new people is a nice way to forget about everything. But  _you_ …” He pauses, not allowing himself to continue.

"Me what?" I prompt, only speaking because I’m not sure if he’ll keep talking or not.

He finally looks over at me, his eyes meeting mine for the first time since I got here. They’re filled to the brim with a conflicted passion. “I don’t know. You were just so different. You didn’t know that I was sick. You treated me like you’d treat anybody else, and that was fun. And even though it was incredibly selfish of me, I couldn’t give you up once I met you. I should have kept my distance, and-“

I have to stop him right there. I can’t imagine how different things would be if I left that hospital without Gavin, on the day we met, and I don’t want to hear him talk about it as though that’s how things should have played out. “You wouldn’t be able to get rid of me now even if you wanted to, Gav. I’m not going to do what your parents did to you. I’m here for the long haul.”

He doesn’t speak. He just moves his face closer to mine and kisses my lips softly. 


	11. Chapter 11

_Two weeks later_

Gavin and I didn’t talk about it much.

It was usually a subject we’d try to avoid entirely, because we didn’t want things to turn grim and serious, even though it was obviously a topic that would inevitably sort itself out in the worst possible way. Regardless if we discussed it or not.

I cared about Gavin. A lot. And I’d make sure to causally slip it into conversation, just because that bashful grin of his made my heart go crazy. Fuck, I hated sounding like a twelve year old girl at a One Direction concert.

We didn’t tell anybody at Roosterteeth about it, but they did become suspicious when I’d become overly protective of him. Since Gavin was a huge annoying prick, people would often threaten him with physical violence. I probably did it the most.

“What is Game Night!?” Gavin screams loudly, hanging off of my two co-workers shoulders.

“I swear to fuck, Gavin. If you don’t get away from me right now I will seriously wring your little British neck.” Geoff curses at him. He and Caleb are recording an episode of game night, and ever since he’s arrived, Gavin has made a habit of jumping in during the first five seconds.

“But you love my little British neck, Geoff!” Gavin smirks, talking over Caleb who is actually trying to do the videos commentary.

The amusing scene quickly makes me angry when I watch Geoff turn around and punch the sandy haired boy in the arm. It was just a friendly punch, but any kind of physical violence from Geoff (hostile or not) is enough to leave a bruise on  _anybody._

Gavin immediately turns his face away to hide the intense pain, and grips his now sore arm. He attempts to laugh it off, along with Geoff and Caleb, not wanting them to become suspicious.

“Are you okay, Gavin!?” I pull his arm forward to inspect it, easily able to overpower his attempts to keep cradling it to his chest dramatically.

“Michael…” He complains, “I’m not a child!”

Geoff and Caleb just giggle at our exchange, then continue on talking about the video.

“He punched you pretty hard. Think it’ll bruise?” I whisper, both to respect Game Night’s recording, and so the two guys won’t overhear.

“Of course, ya’ pleb.” He responds, still trying to get his arm out of my grasp.

“You really need to be more careful, Gav. This’ll be a pretty nasty bruise.”

“I’m fine, Michael.” His eyes are begging me to drop the subject, and I only relent after I see how upset he is by it.

“We’re talking about this later.” Avoiding this subject isn’t going to help anything, but I know we can’t do it here at the office.

He simply nods, assuming that it won’t ever happen.

*

“Leeeet’s talk!” I call out, as I sit down next to Gavin on the couch. We’re hanging out at my apartment, like we usually do on Saturday nights. He’s playing an old Grand Theft Auto game that I had lying around. All he’s doing is crashing his car, murdering people, and running away from the police.

He giggles a little at my joke, but gives me a hesitantly confused look at the same time, “You were serious about talking?”

“Of course, buddy ol’ pal.” I put my arm around his neck and squeeze him in a brotherly affectionate way. Mostly to mock him, but also to lighten the air before such a heavy conversation.

“Michael!” He whines. I roll my eyes before releasing him from my hold.

“Gav, we need to stop avoiding this subject.”

“What subject?”

I narrow my eyes at him. “Stop being a prick, you know exactly what I’m talking about.”

“Yes. But I fail to see what needs to be discussed.”

“I’m worried about you.”

“Why?”

His game has been easily forgotten, and neither of us notice his character being shot repeatedly by a group of policemen.

“Obvious reasons.”

He rolls his eyes while turning back to the game, “I hate when people say they’re worried about me.  _I’m_  not worried about me.” He restarts the game and immediately punches a man in the face that was innocently walking on the sidewalk. I assume taking out his annoyance on video game characters isn’t a good way to cope.

I don’t speak for a while, but switch between watching Gavin’s game, to his emotionless deadpanned face. “I hate seeing you so serious.” I eventually mutter.

“I hate seeing  _you_  serious, so let’s just not talk about stupid stuff.” He grins innocently. All attempts to drop the subject aren’t going to work on me this time.

“Did you really think that would work?” I question. When he sees that I’m trying to hold back a smile, his grin turns smug.

“No, but I’m glad it did.”

I let out a sigh. “We can’t ignore this forever, Gav. As much as I wish we could go on pretending that you’ll be here on my couch playing video games forever, that’s not going to happen until you stop being so stubborn.”

“I’m not being stubborn. I just want to live out the rest of my life happily.”

“But think of how happy you could be if you lived to be seventy!”

“Think of how happy I am not being in pain.” He grins. Gavin’s a professional at pretending serious matters are jokes.

“You  _are_  in pain, dipshit. Are you forgetting about when Geoff punched you today?”

“Minor inconvenience.”

I scoff and roll my eyes. It’s like he doesn’t understand that I’m affected by all of this too. Ever since I’d started to see Gavin as more than just an annoying pest (which he still is, by the way) I couldn’t get my mind off of him.

And now that we “hang out” everyday, we’ve gotten  _really_  close. I’ve never been this close to somebody before, and it’s nice. The discovery of Gavin’s illness put me into over protection mode. Even though I can’t do much to stop him from getting hurt, I react like a middle aged father tending to his teenage daughter about boys.

Gavin’s a good sport about it, and will usually laugh it off or call me an idiot for getting so concerned. But it’s probably just because he wants me to get my mind off of his condition.

Around the office everybody jokes around that Gavin and I are like an old married couple. One moment I’m screaming at him and calling him a moron, then the next I’m babying him around and making double sure that he’s okay after he trips over his own two feet and face plants to the floor. 

We always laugh off those comments, not because they make us uncomfortable, but because they’re genuinely funny. And also because they remind us of that girl from the ice-cream shop.

We’ve never put any thought behind if we were actually dating or not, simply because we didn’t think that was an important detail. But during a discussion like this, our relationship could be a key factor in getting my point across to him. 

“Gavin, I hate to sound like an annoying clingy sixteen year old, but are we dating or not?”

He shrugs, which further proves my statement of us not really giving two shits. “We  _go_  on dates.”

“That wasn’t the question.”

“If you’re asking if we’re boyfriends, the answer is no. I wouldn’t do that to you, Michael.”

“Do what to me?”

He smiles, turning away from his game again, “You’re still young. Plenty of time to find a guy that’s not going to be dead soon.”

“We’re  _both_  young.  _Too_  young to have to think about shit like this.”

“You’re the one bringing it up, lad.”

“Yes. Because I don’t want you to _die_ , Gavin.”

“I don’t want  _you_  to die either.”

“I’m not the one dying.”

“Everybody’s dying, Michael. Wake up and smell Ray’s roses.” He smirks, and then gives me a quick kiss before ruthlessly murdering an innocent civilian in his game.

“You’re an idiot. I give up.” I mutter, and lean back into the couch, to watch his killing spree in comfort.

“But I’m  _your_  idiot.” He grins. I don’t respond, but for a brief moment I see a look of guilt spread across his face after he turns back to his video game.

*

The week continues on normally, and I don’t bring up the subject again. Gavin’s prediction for his future leaves a rotten feeling in my stomach, but if he doesn’t want to fix it, then I have to accept that. No matter how horrible it makes me feel.

We either hang out at four different places. My apartment, the hospital, the office, or a stereotypical date location (like the movies or a restaurant.) So walking through the hospital doors isn’t something out of the ordinary for me now. I know the entire route to Gavin’s room like the back of my hand, and I’m very proud of that fact.

I look at the secretary out of habit. We always give each other the nastiest glares when I walk in, but she’s not glaring at me today. She stares at me with a look of annoyance, yet cautious respect. What the hell?

I shrug it off, and don’t bother giving her any type of nasty glare back. What do I care if the secretary is suddenly fond of me. I still don’t really like her.

That’s not the only weird thing that happens during my trip. Usually when I pass Gregory and Phillip they’ll give me a harsh warning against hurting Gavin as I pass. Something along the lines of “Don’t you be hurtin’ our boy!”

But this time when I pass by them, they nod at me kindly before turning back to watching their ‘intense’ game of golf. I swear one of them even had the hint of a smile on their face. I don’t get much time to ponder it though, since I’m nearing Gavin’s room.

“Michael!” the familiar bubbly sound of Barbara’s excited squeals reach my ears. I turn around to see her dashing down the halls, a huge grin on her face.

Since we see each other so often, we’ve become pretty good friends. Such good friends that I laugh at the doctors giving her dirty looks for being so excited.

“What’s got you so peppy?” I ask once she finally reaches me.

She gives me a peck on the cheek, “You are currently my most favourite person in the world.”

“…Why?” I raise an eyebrow suspiciously. “What did Gavin do now?” It always ties back to him doing something stupid. No matter what.

“I’ll let him tell you. But just…” She finishes her sentence with an uncontrollably loud squeal, and then squeezes me so tight that I think  _I_ need a doctor.

Before I can question it any further, she runs off, still basking in the happiness she’s experiencing.

It’s not just those few people that seem to be in a good mood though, it’s like everybody’s caught a case of the jollies today! The nurses, doctors, and patients that I’ve passed by in the corridors all give me encouraging smiles. I’m familiar with most of the staff and patients around here. It’s not hard when you’re in a fling with Gavin Free.

“What’s wrong with  _her_?” a familiar British voice questions.

I turn around, and Gavin’s standing there watching Barbara dance down the halls. It’s like she doesn’t even have a job to be doing. The smile on his face makes me think that he knows why she’s so happy.

“I don’t know. It’s like somebody’s poisoned the water around here.”

“Yeah, they all seem to be in a cheery mood.”

“You had something to do with it, didn’t you?”

“What makes you say that?”

We walk down the hall side by side, not really going anywhere in particular. The occasional beeping noises and hospital equipment being rolled down the halls has become familiar to me. As weird as it sounds, it’s comforting to be in the hospital. It’s the place that reminds me of Gavin the most.

“Because you’re  _you_. So spill, what did you do this time?”

“Guess.” That shit eating grin that I love to hate crosses his face, and I glare at him for it.

“Just fucking tell me.”

“Nope. Let’s make a game out of it.”

Everything’s a fucking game with Gavin, and I hate myself for always playing along.

“Jesus Christ. Did it have anything to do with the Children’s Ward?” Gavin’s favourite place was a pretty good guess in my opinion. His ability to play with all those kids will never cease to bring a smile to my face.

“Strike one.”

I’m reminded of playing this “Guessing and Strikes” type game when I picked up Rosie from school on the day Gavin and I first met. I hate being forced to guess, but I also hate only getting three guesses. It’s such a paradox. 

“Fuck. Uh…Has Barbara finally stopped making stupid puns every second of the day?”

“Now  _that_ would be a bloody miracle.” He interlocks his fingers with mine casually as we continue walking, “One more guess.”

“Damn it. Can I have a hint?”

“It involves you.”

“Are you pregnant?” He throws his head back with laughter, holding his stomach with free hand. That was a pretty dumb joke, so something good must have really happened if he’s in such a good mood.

“No. Close though.” He jokes while still snickering.

“Is it really  _good_  news?”

“I suppose  _you_  might think it’s good news. Everybody else was quite happy about it.” This is proved when a doctor clasps his hand on Gavin’s shoulder with a heavy dose of fatherly affection, before continuing his trek down the hall. Gavin doesn’t think much of it, but we did stop walking when he approached us.

“Everybody here’s gone crazy.” I mutter, watching the doctor walk away.

We’re standing in the middle of the hospital corridor, when Gavin puts a hand on my shoulder.

“Michael.” His voice is serious. “I’ve agreed to start getting treatment.”

“What?”

"I’m starting chemotherapy… because of  _you_.”


	12. Chapter 12

Gavin doesn’t say anything else, he just watches my face for a reaction. He attempted to say it without any kind of expression, but can’t help but smile when he sees how shocked I am.

"R…Really?" I question, my voice quiet.

"Yeah…" He looks down shyly for a moment, "Ever since you came around…life’s been pretty swell. We’ve already had so many awesome experiences in the short amount of time I’ve known you. Why let that end just because I’m not willing to go through a little chemo?" He smiles, bracing himself for impact. He’s smart at least.

I grab a hold of him and hug him to me as tight as I can. He laughs loudly and wraps his arms around my neck, lifting his feet off the ground as if he’s a child being picked up by an adult.

I don’t pay attention to the people that smile as they pass us. _That’s_  why everybody was so happy. Their favourite British patient is  _finally_  accepting treatment.

 

"You’re being completely serious?" I have to ask again, he pulls his face away from where it was snuggled into my neck. He lowers his feet back to the ground but we don’t move away or untangle our arms from around each other. The huge smile on his face is mirroring mine.

"Yup. The news has spread like wildfire throughout the hospital. Everybody’s congratulating me as though it’s a big deal or something," he shrugs as though he’s indifferent to it all.

“ _You’re_  certainly acting like it’s a big deal, with that huge smile on your face.” I point out knowingly. He rolls his eyes with a smile.

"Well yeah, but that’s just because it’s making  _you_  so happy.” He grins, “Look at us, all wrapped around each other in the middle of a hospital. It’s a bad example for all the other patients.”

I scoff and push him away, only because I’d only just realized that we actually are in public, and everybody’s watching us.

"Are you okay?" He grins, watching me. He takes my hand in his so that we’re still somewhat close to each other.

I don’t blame him for being so amused. I feel so giddy with happiness. We’re seriously acting like two little kids that just found out they’re going to Disney World. I want to jump up and down and cheer.

I feel like I could cry if I really wanted to. Gavin’s getting treatment. Holy shit. I let the words replay in my head over and over and his grip on my hand tightens as I finally notice him observing me.

"What?" I question.

"Nothing." He grins, "You’re just so easily excitable."

"Gavin. You just told me that you’re getting chemotherapy. You’ve basically just told me that you might survive this and-"

"Now don’t get your hopes up!" He orders jokingly with that usual grin on his face, "Just because I’m getting treatment doesn’t mean I’m going to live. Even _I’m_ not stupid enough to believe that. This just means that there’s a tiny chance I _might_  not be dead before I reach my next birthday.”

I feel like I’m on drugs or something, I haven’t been this happy in a long time. I’ve been mentally preparing myself for Gavin to call me up and tell me that he’s dying right at that moment. The amount of stress I’ve been under, ever since that day I found the pain pills in his pocket, has been killing me. To hear that he’s finally going to get chemo is probably the best news I’ve ever heard in my life. I have to keep reminding myself that Gavin and I only met a few months ago.

"This is all happening so fast." I mutter.

He seems to understand what I was referring to. “Time moves a lot slower when you don’t have much of it left.”

And he’s right, because even though it’s only been a few months, it feels like I’ve known Gavin my entire life.

"Are you going to cry, Michael?" He smirks.

"No, you idiot." I roll my eyes, "But I  _am_ very happy! We need to go celebrate or something! Let’s go tell everybody!”

He laughs, “Everybody already knows! Who could you possibly tell?”

"Let’s go tell everybody at Roosterteeth!" I suggest.

"No, because that will easily turn from  _'Gavin's getting chemotherapy, yay'_  to ‘ _Gavin has cancer!? Oh my gosh_!’”

"True." That brings up another point of discussion though, "When  _are_  you going to tell them that you’re sick though? You’re not planning on keeping this from them forever, are you?”

"Probably not. That’s what my plan was with you, and that backfired on me."

Thank God that happened, otherwise I’d be in the dark about his illness entirely. And I might not have been able to somehow persuade him into getting treatment.

"Wait, so if it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t be getting help at all?"

"Nope. You somehow convinced me."

"Has nobody tried to convince you before? Why the sudden change of heart now?"

"Of course they have, that’s why they’re all pissing themselves like excited dogs over the fact that I’ve finally agreed to it." He smiles, amused at everybody’s happiness. But yeah, you were the main factor. I liked seeing you get so worked up over my health. It was cute."

"You’re a prick." I snicker. "Who’d you tell first? And how long ago?"

"Told Barbara, and then Doctor Kines about five days ago."

I ignore the fact that he’s kept this from me for five days, mainly because my curiosity is piqued at the sound of an unfamiliar name.

"Who’s Doctor Kines?"

"One of my doctors, he’s always trying to convince me to get treatment. He’s kind of a prick."

"Wow, there’s somebody in the world that Gavin Free isn’t best friends with?"

"Oh shush, you little minge." He chuckles.

*

We really did end up going out to celebrate.

The rest of the day consisted of hanging out with Gavin, and doing stupid little date things with him. We went to eat at a restaurant, an ice-cream shop (mostly as a joke, but also because ice-cream is fucking delicious), went to see some overrated horror movie (even though we just sat in the corner of the theater and made out the entire time.)

"What time is it?" Gavin whines. He’s got the front passenger seat reclined back the entire way, his eyes closed. "I’m so tired."

"It’s only eight o’clock, you moron. As if you couldn’t have just opened your eyes and looked for yourself."

"What would I use you for then?"

I punch his leg lightly, but he still takes a sharp intake of breath and rubs the pained area, “Michael!” He complains in a whiny tone, “You knew that would hurt really bad, but you did it anyway.”

"You knew you were being a lazy bastard."

"Touche." He grins.

This is nice.

Things are good again.

No more worries about him being sick or dying. No hidden pill bottles in his coat pockets. Just Gavin and I, hanging out, as though it’s a normal day.

*

"You guys went out celebrating and you didn’t invite  _me_!?” Barbara complains.

"Yeah, because we thought it might be a good idea if you actually did your job for once." Gavin smirks at her, then lets out an exaggerated yawn.

She huffs and crosses her arms. “You want me to do my job? Fine, I think it’s time you go to bed, Patient Number 309. Let’s go.”

He lets out a sarcastic chuckle, “Funny.” He mutters.

I laugh, and allow Gavin to rest his head against my shoulder. He really is incredibly tired, and Barbara would be right to send him to bed.

Barbara’s eyes widen as she focuses on something that’s behind Gavin and I. She rolls her eyes again, and sighs. “Heads up, Gav. Doctor Douchebag is heading this way.”

"Tell him to bugger off." he mumbles in response.

I can only assume that this is the doctor that he briefly complained about earlier.

"Hello, Nurse Barbara! Don’t you have some patients to be attending to?" I hear a voice question. I don’t bother turning around, because he soon comes over to stand by Barbara anyways.

He seems like a pretty normal doctor. Probably around mid forties judging by his greying hair. He’s not sending off any major asshole signals like I’d expect judging by their reactions to him.

"Go fuck yourself." Barbara mutters at him.

Holy shit.

"Now, now, Barbara. I thought we were over this petty feud." He smiles at her innocently.

It’s not that same kind of innocent smile Gavin would give me when he knows he’s in trouble and is trying to worm his way out of his. Doctor Kines smile has an underlying evil to it. And it reminds me of a super villain from a comic book, thinking that they just captured the good guy. I raise my eyebrow and continue to watch the exchange, Gavin’s head still resting on my shoulder.

It’s only when he puts an arm on her shoulder that I finally realize how big of a prick this guy is. She wriggles away from him, but his grip is still tight on her skin. An uncomfortable expression crosses her face, and I immediately have to say something.

"Dude, back off." I growl.

Gavin seemed to be thinking the same thing I was, since as soon as I say that, he yells “Oy! Leave her alone.” at the same time.

Doctor Kines rolls his eyes at us, but finally does let go of her. She rubs over sore shoulder. “Run along now, Barbie.” he says to her.

"Don’t call me that." She mutters at him, but she does follow his instructions simply because she actually  _does_ have a job to do. She kisses my cheek to say goodbye, and before she does the same to Gavin they have a quiet conversation.

"You gonna be okay, Barb?"

"Yeah, I can handle this sexual-harassment-prick on my own. You have bigger problems on your plate." She smiles. I’m quickly reassured and no longer worry about her safety. Barbara’s a tough girl, she could kick this guys ass if she really wanted to. She’s just to nice for that kind of stuff. "You get some sleep, okay?"

She kisses his forehead, and then takes her leave after saying to me, “Take care of him!”

We’re not stuck in an awkward silence with Doctor Kines, simply because he begins talking immediately after Barbara’s gone. I don’t pay any attention to it, mainly because it’s all medical mumbo jumbo for Gavin that I don’t understand, and also because I can see that Gavin has his eyes closed and isn’t paying attention. It must not be very important information.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever." Gavin mumbles, still not bothering to open his eyes.

"Who are you?" Doctor Kines finally asks me, as though he’s only just noticed me standing there, acting as a pillow for Gavin.

"What’s it to you?" I’m allowed to be an asshole to this guy.

He puts up his hands in a mock surrender, pretending that he’s actually a good guy. “Well, I’m Doctor Kines.” he chuckles.

I glare at him, “I know who you are. My names Michael.” I don’t go any further than that. Gavin starts snickering from his place on my shoulder.

"And how do you know Mr. Free?" He questions. Yeah, I don’t like this guy. I know that he’s probably just trying to make sure I’m not some strange lunatic that wants to murder his patient, but still.

"I don’t fucking know, dude. We’re best friends that occasionally make out in dark places?" I reference our trip to the movie theater a few hours ago. That’s probably the best description of our relationship that I can give at the moment.

Gavin lets out a laugh at my bluntness, and also at how uncomfortable that prick looks now.

"Can’t we just talk about all this faff tomorrow? I want to go to sleep." Gavin whines, finally too frustrated with having to stand here.

"Fine, if you insist. But I actually came over here to tell you some exciting news." he announces, a smile forms across his face. Gavin doesn’t react positively to that though, and instead lets out a loud and dramatic groan. It’s my turn to snicker at him now at his annoyance. 

It’s rare to see Gavin in a mood that could be considered grumpy, but it’s also very amusing.

"Get on with it!"

"I told your parents that you were finally going to get back into chemotherapy. They jumped on a plane as soon as they could, and they’re waiting for you in your room right now."

Gavin’s head immediately snaps up off of my shoulder so fast that I’m surprised he didn’t break his neck. His eyes are wide open and he’s definitely one hundred percent awake now.

"What?" He growls, eyes showing anger that I never thought possible from Gavin Free.


	13. Chapter 13

"You called my parents!?" he exclaims loudly.

My eyes widen and I put my hand on Gavin’s shoulder when I see him try to walk closer to the doctor. “Gav!” I attempt to steal his attention, and luckily I’m a lot stronger than him (or he’s just weak) so he doesn’t get any closer. I seriously think he might be trying to punch this guy in the face.

"Why would you call them?!" Gavin yells once again.

"I’m sorry. But I figured your parents had the right to know. They’re very worried about you." In Doctor Kines defense he doesn’t look like he did it to purposely make Gavin angry or upset. Maybe he genuinely thought that his parents deserved to know. But judging by the small amount Gavin’s told me, he’s wrong.

"No they aren’t! Tell them to leave! I don’t want to see them." He finally begins to calm down, no longer fighting against me.

I realize that he’s not so much angry, as he is distressed. The thought of having to see his parents again worries him to the point of utter panic.

"It’s okay, Gav." I murmur to him, and rub his arm. I have no idea how to comfort him because I’ve never been in a situation where Gavin’s the one losing his composure, while I’m the calm one.

 

The only things I’ve been told about Mr and Mrs. Free is that they sent Gavin away to America because they couldn’t deal with the fact that he had cancer.

Up until now I didn’t think much of it; It seemed apparent to me that Gavin didn’t like to talk about his family and I knew that it was because they were probably huge assholes. I can’t imagine having a kid, finding out that they were deathly ill, then throwing them out like garbage because of it.

"Please just go see them, Mr. Free." Doctor Kines sighs, as though he feels slightly guilty for it. "Talk to them. They’re just happy that you’re finally agreeing to get treatment."

"It has nothing to do with them. They don’t get the right to _be_  happy about that.” He’s had enough, and blocks out the doctor completely by turning his back to him. He’s facing me now, and is rubbing his face with his hands. The doctor sighs once again, and nods to me. I don’t say a word or nod back, but he leaves anyways.

"You gonna be okay, man?" I question him.

"I…I guess so. Bloody hell, this will be the first time I’ve seen them since they sent me away six years ago. Why did they have to come here, Michael?" He questions rhetorically, his voice quiet, "I don’t  _want_  to see them.”

I’m having very conflicted emotions over this. Maybe it would be a good idea to just go and hear them out.

"I know you’re parents are total dickwads, but maybe it would be a good idea to go talk to them. Even if it is just for a few minutes. Maybe they really  _are_ concerned.”

"I doubt it." he mutters. "Will you come with me?"

"Sure, dude." I shrug. He nods, while looking down at his feet. Obviously still not confident in going. "Hey, today’s supposed to be a happy day. Don’t get depressed." I command, playfully.

"Fine." He finally does look up, and even though he’s pouting, I know that he’s trying to look on the bright side.

I smile and kiss him softly on the lips, “Thank you.”

"Don’t go all soft on me now, Michael." He playfully glares, failing to hide his grin.

"Shut your stupid British mouth." I laugh, thankful that the air is no longer tense. As long as Gavin’s smiling then everything should be fine. Damn, I am turning soft.

"Time to meet the in-laws." He grins, gripping my hand in his. I know that he’s pretending that everything’s fine and dainty in order to stop himself from having a massive freakout. So I play along with the charade for his sake.

"You’re a fucking idiot." I chuckle, which just causes him to laugh.

*

"Oh, Gavin!" I hear a woman exclaim as soon as we enter the room. She rushes over to him and engulfs him in a bone crushing hug.

She has shoulder length hair that’s the same colour as Gavin. She’s probably the same height as me, which means she’s only a few inches shorter than her son.

I also notice a man in the room with black hair, that has hints of grey mixed in. He looks a lot like Gavin, and it wouldn’t be hard to figure out that he’s his father.

"Mum…" Gavin whines. He’s not hugging her back, and doesn’t have a pleased look on his face. But it seems almost normal, like he’s a teenage boy that’s being embarrassed by his mother in front of his friends. "Let me go, mum!"

"Oh, I missed you so much, sweetie!" She still refuses to release him from the bone crushing hug.

"Come on, Sandy, let him go." his father says. She finally listens, and as soon as Gavin’s free he’s gasping harshly, trying to regain his breath. She obviously hugged him a lot tighter than she thought.

The man claps a hand against Gavin’s back, which is meant to show fatherly affection, but just succeeds in almost knocking him off of his feet.

"It’s so good to see you again, darling!" his mother smiles, still giddy.

"Maybe if you didn’t send me five thousand miles away you’d be able to visit more often." Gavin grimaces, not actually looking his parents in the eye. He moves away from them to stand closer to me.

His father sighs, “You know that we had a good reason for that.”

"Yeah. To get rid of me."

"That’s not true, Gavin!" She cries. I can tell that they’ve had this discussion numerous times by the way that his father shakes his head slowly. It’s only when Gavin interlocks his fingers with mine for support, that she notices me. "Who’s this?"

I don’t mind that she talks as though I’m not here. I’ve already sort of decided in my head that I don’t like his parents. If Gavin (who just so happens to be best friends with the world) doesn’t like someone, then chances are they’re bad news.

But just because both Gavin and I don’t particularly like them, doesn’t mean that I’ll be an asshole to them. It’ll probably do me good to get on their good side, especially if me and their son are…dating? Whatever.

"I’m Michael Jones."

"I’m Gary Free." His father states, and holds out his hand to shake. I grip it when my free hand, and try not to wince at his naturally tight grip.

"And I’m Sandy Free, Gavin’s mother." As if I couldn’t figure that out myself. I go to shake her hand as well but she instead comes forward and wraps her arms around my neck. She’s obviously a hugging person.

"Bloody hell, Mum. Get off of him!" Gavin complains.

She only hugged me lightly, not to the crazy degree that she went with Gavin.

"How do you two know each other?" She questions.

"I’m his twink." Gavin answers easily. I let out a laugh at that, and he grins. His parents faces scrunch up a little in confusion, obviously not knowing what the word means. It was a pretty dumb joke, but we use that word to mock the other quite a lot. To hear him say it so casually to another person was pretty funny.

Moments like these prove to me how well Gavin and I know each other. We’re like elementary school kids that have inside jokes and pass notes to each other in class.

Gary shakes his head once again, but finally says “We hopped on a plane as soon as we heard that you changed your mind.”

"Yeah, that phone call we received was like a dream come true." Sandy gushes.

I watch Gavin roll his eyes as he leans into my shoulder a little more. He’s obviously still pretty tired.

Watching Gavin interact with his parents is weird. They’re obviously trying hard to seem overly joyous to see him, but even I can tell that it looks sort of forced. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure that they actually do love their son, but it still seems like they’re putting on a show.

"I don’t understand why you’re so excited about it." Gavin mutters. I know that although he still can’t comprehend why the entire hospital is so enthralled about the news; it’s obvious his parents don’t deserve to be. I don’t know which the attitude behind the statement is directed towards.

"Because we love you, and want you to be healthy!"

"You don’t care about me at all when I’m sick. As soon as I was first diagnosed it was like you guys just stopped caring about me." He argues.

"We would never stop caring about you." his father states, his voice laced with annoyance, "Do you have any idea how stressful it is to find out your only son is dying of cancer?"

Gavin stops being quiet. “Do you have any idea how bloody stressful it is to actually  _be_ dying of cancer!?”

"Shhh…" I murmur quietly, so that only he can hear. I don’t want Gavin to freak out and start yelling at his parents, obviously they’re infuriating people talk to. They appear to be champions at playing the victim. 

My attempts to calm him down appear to work, and he settles for squeezing my hand as hard as he can to let out his frustration. Which isn’t very hard.

"We didn’t come here to argue, son." His father states.

"Then why  _did_  you come here? You threw me away once you found out I was damaged, and now that you find out that I might be getting fixed again you want me back?”

I try to be as quiet as possible, not really wanting to get in the middle of their heated family discussion. I’m only here to support Gavin, and make sure that he’s okay. Also, I’m the only non-British sounding person in the room, so I feel sort of out of place. That last one’s probably not important though.

"We came here because we want to take you home." Sandy says, her eyes and voice are pleading.

Gavin’s quiet for a moment, and I watch his eyebrows furrow together in confusion, “What are you talking about?”

"We want you to come back to England with us and get chemotherapy there instead."

Gavin’s about to respond, but I cut him off quickly. “No.” I shake my head back and forth. “You’re not taking Gavin.”

An annoyed expression passed through his mothers face, “Excuse you. I don’t think it’s up to you what I do with my son.”

"He’s a grown man. He doesn’t have to take orders from his parents. Especially not dead-beat parents like you." I’m not just going to stand around and let Gavin’s parents bully him into going back to England. He’s a people pleaser, and it’s obvious that his parents are well aware of that. If they begged long enough, he’d eventually give in, regardless of if he wanted to or not.

"Dead-beat parents!? Just who do you think you’re talking to, young man?" Gary booms at me. I don’t back down though, I’ve been in verbal fights with guys bigger than him.

"Calm down, everyone!" Gavin yells. Silence fills the room, and I just glare at his parents.

The thought of Gavin being taken away from me isn’t a pleasant one. I’d deny it until I was blue in the face, but life is so much better with Gavin in it. Whether we’re playing video games together at my apartment, making out in the back of my car, having water fights with children, or he’s acting like a total prick just to piss me off…I don’t want those things to end just because his parents think that he’s their disposable son.

"Michael’s right. I’m not going anywhere with you two." He states boldly.

"Damn right, you aren’t!" I agree loudly.

"Gavin, you have to listen to us. We’re your parents, we just want what’s best for you. We know you much better than this  _Michael_ does.” She speaks my name as though it’s poison against her tongue. It only succeeds in making me glare at her.

"When we first told you that you were going to America, you begged us not to make you go. You should be overjoyed that we’re offering you a trip back!" His father states.

"No. I like it  _here_. I have friends here.” Gavin refuses to back down. I know that the only reason he’s so confident is because I’m here, yelling at his parents, and being the backbone to his argument. If it weren’t for me he’d probably be halfway to England right now. His parents a nothing more than school yard bullies, and he’s the weak nerdy kid.

"We want to be a family again, Gavin."

"Well…" He goes quiet for a second, and nobody dares to fill the silence. His voice lacks the steady confidence it did earlier. "You lost your chance when you threw me away."

I would have never thought that two people could be so manipulative towards their own child. I keep expecting them to tell him that he’s not allowed to go to the ball, and has to do chores all night instead. Fuck, that means I’m the fairy godmother.

"Don’t you want to meet William? He’s been so excited for you to come back to England ever since we told him." His mother tries. She keeps trying to sweeten the deal, and I don’t have a rebuttal to that one because I have no idea who William is.

Gavin’s head shoots up as soon as he hears the name. His eyes are burning with curiosity. “William? How old is he now?”

"He’ll be turning five in a few weeks." Shining with hope and excitement at his question, thinking that maybe she’s caught him on her hook.

"Who’s William?" I finally ask. I’m not going to be worried to interrupt their discussion anymore, I don’t want his parents thinking that they’re able to walk all over him.

"He’s my brother."

_My parents left me. They couldn’t handle the stress of having a sick kid, so as soon as I turned eighteen they put me on a plane and shipped me off to America. Gave some bull crap excuse about how the medical opportunities over here are better. Then while I was away they had another kid to replace me._

Another kid to replace him.

"Yeah, sweetie." She coos at him “Don’t you want to meet your little brother? He wants to see you so badly.”

I see something switch in Gavin’s face. The prospect of finally getting to meet his brother is a huge turning point in this. I’ve never once seen Gavin able to turn down the thought of seeing children. “I do want to meet him… But I thought you didn’t tell him about me.” He mutters.

"Of course we did. You and William are the most important people in our lives, and we just want you both to be with us."

As much as I hate to admit it, they make a compelling argument. I’ve never been in a situation where I didn’t like my parents, and they were trying to convince me to do something I didn’t want. But I know that this is difficult for Gavin, especially since he’s so accustomed to making everybody happy at once. For the first time in his life, he has to look out for himself and his interests instead of others.

I’m sure that the idea of having an actual family again is very pleasing, but he knows that if he does go back with them it’s not going to be like that. He knows that what they’re suggesting won’t be what he receives  It won’t be a big happy family that all cares about each other equally.

"I’m not leaving." He finally states, while shaking his head slowly. "I don’t want to leave everything that I have here."

His father scoffs, “You don’t  _have_   _anything_  here, son. Everything is back in England, waiting for you to return. It’s time for you to stop being so foolish and come back.”

"You were the ones to send me away in the first place!" Gavin cries, I rub his back slowly.

"Because the medical opportunities over here were better. We knew you’d get taken care of over here."

"You didn’t even give me a choice or think that maybe I wanted to stay with my parents? I could have died over here, all alone, without my family around to comfort me. Is that what you wanted to happen? You got rid of me as soon as we found out that the cancer came back. What if that happens again?"

"But, Gavin-"

"No, mum." He cuts her off, his face serious, "I’m staying here. Because I love this hospital, the people in it, my friends from RoosterTeeth, and Michael."

I have to bite my lip so that I won’t smirk when his parents look at me with shock. They didn’t realize how important I was to Gavin.

His father sighs loudly, “We didn’t want it to come to this Gavin, but if you don’t come back to England with us, weren’t not going to continue to fund your medical and living expenses.”

I can’t describe Gavin’s face with words. It was like a horrible cross between shock, pain, and fear. Disbelief that they would even threaten to do something like that to their own son.

Seeing that look just fuels up my anger to dangerous levels, and I can’t hold it back anymore. “You people need to just shut the fuck up! Can’t you see that you’re making your son miserable? He doesn’t want to go back to England with you. You obviously don’t give two shits about him if you’re willing to take away his treatment and let him die. How can you even come here and pretend that you care about him!? You two are the worst goddamn parents I’ve ever fucking met.” I try not to raise my voice too loud.

It’s night, so I know that some other patients might be trying to sleep. I have more consideration for them than I do for these two.

They continue to look at me in stunned disbelief. I’m sure that nobody’s ever stood up to them before, or called them out on being total shitbags.

Everything’s quiet for a few seconds, and then Gavin begins to talk. “Michael’s right…I think you two should leave.”

"Don’t say that, Gavin. We aren’t leaving without you." Gary instructs.

Gavin just shakes his head, “I hate to say it…But you guys are just  _horrible_  people. And…And I don’t think I ever want to see you again. So please…just go.”

Silence fills the room again, and we don’t dare say anything until his parents do. I notice the realization on their face. The realization that they’ve lost their son, and he isn’t going to come crawling back to them like they’d assumed. Their faces are crumpled with defeat, but also anger. As though Gavin is in the wrong for not wanting to go with them.

I look at him, and notice his stance. He’s got his head held high, breath sucked in, and is looking them straight in the eye. His eyes show how hard this is for him to do, but he’s not backing down.

I’m proud of him for growing such a strong backbone.

His mother lets out a dramatically loud and slow sigh, “Okay, Gavin…If that’s really what you want.” She moves forward and gives him another hug, not as bone crushing as earlier, but still tight. He doesn’t hug her back. “I love you, sweetie.” She murmurs to him.

"Goodbye, mum and dad." He whispers, still refusing to break. I know this won’t be the last time Gavin sees his parents, and it probably won’t be the last for me either. But I’m thankful that they’re gone now because Gavin’s not looking too good.

I don’t pay attention to them leaving. I watch Gavin, who is staring at them. And it’s only after the door closes that he sucks in a large shaky breath, and almost begins hyperventilating. I hadn’t realized he’d been holding his breath that short amount of time. His knees are about to give out and I immediately reach out to grab him, then hold him to my chest.

I murmur calming words, but I don’t know how well it’s working. I’ve never really had to comfort anybody before, and Gavin’s definitely not somebody that’s ever needed comforting. He’s usually so strong, letting things slide off like they didn’t matter. But he can’t do that with this situation.

"I’m so sorry, Michael." He gasps, still trying to catch his breath.

"It’s okay. Let it all out." I whisper, holding him tighter to me.

"Why would they come here? Why would they want me to go back to England with them?" He mutters. I can’t see his face, since it’s buried into my shoulder.

"They’re just assholes. They don’t deserve someone as great as you." Fuck, I really  _am_  turning soft. I can’t believe I said something that lame.

It helps though, because I hear Gavin chuckle a little at it’s cheesiness. He untangles himself from me and I see one lone tear streaming down his face. I wipe it away with my thumb, and the unexpected contact causes him to flinch a little.

Sometimes Gavin’s easy to read.

He looks so ashamed. Ashamed that his own parents don’t actually want him. That he’s never met his own younger brother. That he was forced to move a million miles away from his family. That he has cancer.

"It’s not your fault, y’know. None of it." I whisper to him. The room is so quiet, that neither of us want to raise our voices to break it.

His demeanor reminds me of a kicked puppy. It doesn’t take long for me to pull him closer to me again and press my lips against his. It was a brief kiss, lasting only a few seconds. But it still removes the stressed feelings in my brain and replaces them with blissful ones.

When it ends we don’t move very far away from each other. Our noses practically touching. “Can you stay here with me tonight?” He asks. His abject and pleading tone doesn’t leave me much room to decline, though I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have regardless.

"I wouldn’t leave you alone."

*

And that’s how I find myself in a hospital bed a while later, my arms wrapped around Gavin. Whispering pointless things to the air, and listening to his heavy breathing as he continues to calm himself down.

The room is dim, and the moonlight coming from the window is the only source of light.

We didn’t even bother to get under the covers. My arms are wrapped around his torso, and I’m surprised at how comfortable this is. We’re both still wearing all of our clothes, so the feeling of my jeans rubbing against Gavin’s is irritating but that’s the only complaints I have.

 

Gavin’s hair tickles my face, but I don’t move away. Instead letting the steady rhythm of his breathing lull me to sleep. I try to fight it, but once I realize that he’s already dozed off, I let the exhaustion overtake me after placing one last comforting kiss to the back of Gavin’s soft hair.


	14. Chapter 14

"Wake up, Michael!" I hear somebody holler.

My eyes open immediately at the loud noise, and I’m met with Gavin’s face directly in front of mine, eyes wide and a huge grin spread across his face.

I let out a loud groan after letting my eyes close again. “Go back to sleep, Gavin, before I punch you in the throat.”

"No, you have to wake up. It’s morning time." At least he has the decency to whisper now, his face is still incredibly close, and I can feel his nose lightly brushing against mine every so often.

I scrunch my eyebrows together, “Shut the hell up. I know you well enough to know that it’s way to early to be up.” I don’t understand how he does it. Gavin has the ability to sleep for two hours and function as though he’s slept a week.

"But it’s seven o’clock, my little Michael."

I peek an eye open to glare at him, “I told you to stop calling me that.”

"But why?" He whines, pouting his lip like an idiot.

 

I smirk and close my eye again, “People will get the impression that we’re queer.”

He lets out a loud laugh, and it echoes off of the room’s walls. Gavin’s room is pretty empty, the only things he really has in it is a bed, and a dresser type thing that I assume has all of his clothes in it. I can’t imagine him wanting to spend much time in here.

"Wouldn’t want that to happen, would we?" I don’t have to open up my eyes to know that he’s grinning. He apparently decides that he doesn’t really want to get up anymore, and snuggles down so that his face is buried in my chest. I rest my chin on the top of his head, and prepare to go back to sleep but he continues talking.

"Don’t you have work today?"

"Fuck." I curse loudly. When I left my house yesterday I didn’t know that I’d end up sleeping over to Gavin’s, and among all the drama yesterday, I forgot all about work.

He takes his head away from my chest, so that he can look at me. It causes me to open up my eyes again as well. “Can I come with you?”

"I guess so." Every time I go to the office without Gavin, everybody’s always asking where he is. He’s managed to weasel his way into our little RoosterTeeth family, and even though everybody hates him and gets mad at him for being an annoying little prick, they love him for all the same reasons.

I can’t imagine how it’ll be once he starts chemotherapy, and can’t come around so often. I don’t think I’d approve of him to leaving the hospital at all. He’s way to reckless for his own good. “I think you should tell somebody today.” I murmur.

"About  _me_?” It doesn’t need to be explained any further. His unhappy tone lets me know that he doesn’t think it’s a good idea.

"Yeah, at least  _one_  person. You know that we all love you there, and you’re practically an employee anyways. What happens if there’s some kind of accident, and I’m not there. What’ll everybody do then?”

He’s quiet for a while, and I don’t speak another word until he does. I know it’s hard for Gavin to talk out loud about his sickness, and that he’d rather just sweep it under the rug and pretend it doesn’t exist at all. But he can’t do that forever. “I’ll tell Geoff.” he nods a little.

"Okay." I murmur, and plant a soft kiss on his nose. He gives me a small smile in return.

We both jump when a loud and urgent knock comes from the door. “Gavin! Michael! Are you in there!?” It’s not difficult to match that voice to Barbara. Does she ever actually do her job around here?

I groan and close my eyes, “Why can’t I just go back to sleep without any disturbances?” I mutter.

Gavin giggles at my annoyance, and answers her by yelling “Yes!”

Why did I have to fall for the worlds most loudest annoying prick ever. I’ve never met somebody that is in such a good mood at seven in the morning.

"Are you guys having sex in there?"

"Yes!" I yell, still not opening my eyes, praying that maybe she’ll go away so that I can sleep in peace. Gavin tries to hold back his laughter.

"Well too bad, I’m coming in anyways."

Fuck. Looks like I’m not going back to sleep  _now_.

She opens up the door and runs in, jumping on the bed. I let out a groan of anger and pain when she lands on us. I don’t get the chance to yell at her for it, because she immediately begins asking questions at top speed.

"Oh my gosh, Gavin! I heard about your parents, are you okay? What happened? What did they say to you?" She squeezes her way in between Gavin and I. We’re only on a small single bed, and there was hardly enough room for the  _two_  of us. I somehow manage not to fall off, while letting her snuggle in between.

"I’m fine, Barb." He responds. I finally give up on any hope of going back to sleep and prop myself up on my elbow so that I can watch the exchange. It gives her more room, so she lies down on her back, her left shoulder digging into my chest, while her right digs into Gavin’s (who leaning on his arm like I am). "They want me to go back to England with them."

She gasps loudly, and then grabs him. “No! You can’t go back to England! You’re staying here!” she yells.

I’d love to see that Doctor Kines walk in on us now, all snuggled up on a bed with the hot blonde nurse that he’s trying to get after. It’s like we’re having some kind of messed up sleepover.

"Calm down, of course he’s staying here." I state, rolling my eyes. She turns and looks at me.

"Did you yell at them?"

"Yeah."

"Good." She holds up her hand for a high five, and I reluctantly return it. Barbara can be such a dork sometimes.

Gavin starts giggling. We both turn to look at him questioningly, but he doesn’t explain himself until I get angry.

"What, Gavin!?" I yell after we listen to him giggle for a few more seconds. Maybe I’m just not a morning person, but he can be such a pest sometimes for absolutely no reason at all.

"It’s like Barbara’s the vanilla frosting in the middle of our gay oreo." his giggles turn into full out laughter at his own dumb joke. It rings throughout the room and he wiggles around like a toddler being tickled. Barbara and I just look at each other and roll our eyes.

I don’t hesitate to reach over and shove him out of the bed. He lands on the floor with a loud thump.

This time when Barbara offers me a high five, I accept it immediately while chuckling. We both laugh louder when he starts complaining and whining about the fall.

Sometimes Gavin can be an even bigger dork than Barbara.

*

It’s a few hours later that we’re in my car and on our way to the office.

Gavin tagging along is something that’s become a part of my everyday norm. Seeing him bounce in his seat excitedly as he chatters my ear off about random crap doesn’t bother me as much as it did a few months ago. It’s more comforting to me now.

After I found out about his illness, I realized that all of those things Gavin did were like reminders that he was still here. If he dies, I’m going to miss all of those stupid theories, pointless blabbering, made up words, and idiotic squeaking noises he makes.

As soon as I begin to ponder this, I’m met with silence. And since I was just thinking about how much I would hate that, it sort of freaks me out for a moment.

"You okay, Gav?" I question, looking over at him. He’s quiet, and looking down at his hands on his lap.

"Yeah, yeah, I’m fine." He murmurs.

He always sucked at lying to me. “No you’re not. Stop trying to pretend everything’s fine. You know that shit doesn’t work on me.”

He smiles a little, “It used to.”

"Tell me what’s wrong." I smirk. It’s hard not to smile when Gavin is, he worms his way into your heart like that. God, it’s like my thoughts are getting cheesier and cheesier by the day.

Would I still be so easily cheered up by him if we were just friends? He seems to have this affect on everybody he meets, but I feel as though it goes deeper with me. Maybe that’s just because we have a sort of romantic …type…thing… between us. Fuck, even my thoughts can’t process what Gavin and I are to each other.

"I’m just worried about telling Geoff."

"Why would you be worried about that?"

"What if he gets mad? Or hates me?"

"He’s not going to get mad, if anything he’d start crying." I chuckle, thinking about my boss bursting into tears. It would be so oddly out of character for him, and I can only picture him sobbing like an over dramatic cartoon character in my head.

"People tend to get mad when they first hear about it though. My parents did."

"Yeah, but they’re assholes." I mutter.

He’s quiet for a few seconds, before whispering, “You did.”

I glance over to see that he’s looking directly at me, guilt dancing around on his facial features. He feels bad for making me angry. Goddammit, it’s like he doesn’t understand that it’s okay to look out for  _himself_ instead of others sometimes.

"Yeah." I take a hand off of the steering wheel to take his, "But I’m an idiot."

*

"Hey, Gavino!" Geoff calls out when we enter the Achievement Hunter office.

"Hey, Gavin!" a few others say, after their attention is brought to us by Geoff.

"What about me? Am I invisible now, assholes?" I shout at them playfully, and they all laugh. I know that Gavin isn’t nervous anymore. Being in a room filled with a bunch of friends is probably the best medicine for a worried him.

"What’s on the agenda for today, lads?" Gavin questions.

"Editing videos." Jack mutters, obviously not happy about it.

"We’re going to film a Grand Theft Auto Let’s Play." Geoff informs, "Wanna be in it, Gav?"

"No! We are  _not_  having Gavin in a Let’s Play!” I announce.

"What? Why not?" The Brit in question whines.

I sit down in my seat, “Because you’re a piece of shit and I hate you.”

By now most of the guys are watching our exchange. “Let him be in the video, Michael. We can be a team, Gavin! X-Ray and Vav!” Ray always has to add in his two cents.

"But he’s just going to be an annoying prick in it." I point out.

That seems to get them on my side, because they all nod and grimace just thinking about it. But Geoff seems determined, “Dude, he’s an annoying prick every second he’s around. Besides, the fans love him. I say we put him in the video, and since I’m the boss…” He trails off, not bothering to say the rest because we all know.

Gavin grins at me smugly, then sits in my lap. “See, Michael. The fans  _love_ me.”

"Get the fuck off me." I shove him off, and he lands on the floor. Everybody laughs, myself and Gavin included.

"That really hurt, Michael!" He complains. I immediately stop laughing. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that he’s delicate in that way. Guilt spreads throughout me as I watch him rub his back (which is what he fell onto.)

"Oh shit, dude. You okay?"

"Yeah," he rolls his eyes at my concern, "I’m fine." He continues to laugh it off, but I know it actually did hurt him.

Fuck, I’m the worst person ever.

*

It’s only after we film the Let’s Play that I decide it’s time to confront Geoff. If I don’t make Gavin talk to him now, he never will.

"Hey, man." I tap him on the shoulder.

"What do you want _now_?” Geoff answers, not bothering to turn around in his seat.

I chuckle at that. The best part about working here is that since we’re all friends, we can treat each other like shit as much as we want. “Gavin has to talk to you about something.”

"I do?" Gavin asks. He looks up with a panicked look on his face, knowing what’s about to come next. He was sitting in my chair, dicking around with the little toys on my desk.

"Yes. Go out in the other room, and talk to him please." I instruct. Sometimes it really does feel like I’m a parenting a toddler.

"…I don’t want to." he whines.

Geoff must realize that something serious must be happening, and gets up from his seat. “Come on, dickhead.” he says to Gavin, while pulling him from my own seat, “Let’s go have a talk.”

Nobody else in the room really pays attention, since they’re all wearing headphones and doing some part in editing a video or something. There’s only Jack and Ryan in here anyways.

"Fine. You’re coming too though, Michael." Gavin grabs my own arm as he’s being hauled away by Geoff.

I give in pretty easily, and when Gavin finally lets go of my arm I just simply follow behind them.

Geoff takes us to the conference room, which is empty of any people. I’m not in this room all that often, and when I am it’s super boring.

"Okay, what’s going on?" Geoff asks, staring at the two of us with an eyebrow raised. "If you brought me in here to tell me that you two are queer for each other, then Jack owes me twenty bucks."

"That’s not why." Gavin responds, "But, Jack _does_  owe you twenty bucks.”

"I knew it!" Geoff grins, and then composes himself, not expanding on the subject anymore than that, "Now tell me what’s going on."

Gavin lets out a loud sigh, “Michael told said it’d be good for me if I told somebody from the office. And since you were one of the first people I met here, besides Michael, I figured it should be you.

"As stupid as it sounds, you’ve become something like a parent figure to me. My own father’s kind of a prick." I let out a sarcastic snort at that. What an understatement. Gavin and Geoff pay no attention to it though. "So even though you’re loud, drink a lot, and like to curse at your employees… You’re kind of like a dad to me." He smiles bashfully.

It’s true. The two have become really close in such a short amount of time. It was like Geoff took Gavin under his wing immediately for reasons unknown even to himself. He doesn’t have a son, but Gavin’s probably the closest thing for him.

Geoff smiles fondly at the boy, and puts a hand on his shoulder, “You’re like a son to me too, Gav. But is that really what you had to tell me? Emotional family bullshit?” The look on his face suggests that he knows that there’s something up, and he’s tired of Gavin beating around the bush.

Gavin laughs quietly, and I know that he’s already nervous about dropping the bomb on him. “No. You know me better than that.”

"Then what’s going on."

I feel like I’m intruding on their weird father/son type moment, but Gavin’s been relying on me for emotional support lately, so I know that my presence is necessary.

"I…uh…I have cancer."

Even though he’s not saying it to me, I still feel uneasy once he mumbles the words under his breath. I don’t think the news will ever fully sink it for me.

I watch as Gavin’s winces, still terrified that Geoff will get angry and curse him out like so many others have. I hate myself for being included in that list of people. Yelling at Gavin that horrible day will be a guilt that’s melted into my brain forever.

But Geoff doesn’t get mad. He doesn’t say anything. I can tell by his face and eyes that he’s a little shocked, and extremely horrified by the news. He’s just doing a good job at hiding it.

His fatherly side takes over once he recognizes that Gavin’s terrified of his reaction.

He simply walks over to the boy, who’s tense with fear, and wraps his arms around him. No questions, no yelling, no confirmation. Gavin finally lets his tension reluctantly sink away as he relaxes into the hug.

And I know everything will be okay.


	15. Chapter 15

"You knew about this, Michael?" Geoff asks me, finally releasing the boy from his affectionate hug.

"Yeah, I found out a while ago."

"When did  _you_ find out, Gavin? Was this only a recent discovery?”

Gavin shakes his head, “No… I’ve been sick for years.”

The look of depression that floods my bosses face makes me want to look away. I’ve never seen him so crestfallen, and I hate that I have to make it worse.

"He’s dying, Geoff." my voice cracks as I say it.

He only repeats the word “dying” slowly under his breath as he studies Gavin’s face. Regret and guilt is still evident in Gavin’s eyes, and it makes me feel horrible. He’s the one who’s sick, yet he still feels responsible.

"Are you getting any kind of treatment?"

"I wasn’t going to. I was okay with dying." He mumbles, while staring at the floor. I’ve seen Gavin talk in this serious somber tone too many times now. "But then I met all of you… And Michael. And he changed my mind."

The look Geoff shoots me can only be described as grateful. But we don’t get to look at each other for long, because Gavin starts talking again.

"But that doesn’t matter now. My parents called me earlier, and they were serious about refusing to pay for any of my expenses unless I go back to England with them."

That’s news to me.

 

"What!?" I yell, "Are you fucking kidding me!? Where are you parents right now, Gavin? I’m going to go kick their fucking asses!"

How the fuck could somebody do something so horrible!? To their own damn son!? Gavin was right about them not really caring about him. If I had to guess, I’d say they only wanted him back so that they could get attention. I can practically just hear them talking to their friends “ _Oh, yes. Our son is so deathly ill. It’s been so hard on us, and we’ve been struggling_ so _much._ " Just thinking about it makes me want to throw something at all wall again.

I can’t think of anybody I hate in the world more than those two people right now.

Geoff grabs my arm, just in case I’m actually about to have a violent outburst, which seems very likely. But just because he’s trying to stop me, doesn’t mean that he isn’t livid too.

"Your own parents said that to you!?" He yells.

"Yeah. They called me while I was waiting in the car earlier." That must have been when I ran into my apartment to change my clothes before work. "They told me they didn’t want to talk to me again, unless it was about plans to move back."

All of this because he has cancer? What more could they possibly be looking for in a son? Gavin’s probably one of the greatest people I’ve ever met. I could talk for years about all of his redeeming qualities. He’s funny, charming, friendly, sociable, and he’s always able to dig out the good in people. Just because he’s unhealthy doesn’t mean that they can throw him away. And now that there’s a chance that he’s getting better, doesn’t mean they can force him to come back.

I could probably record ten Rage Quit’s in a row right now.

It doesn’t take me long to give Geoff the entire story about his parents. I throw in as many demeaning adjectives as I can while telling him about how they sent him away once Gavin started refusing treatment.

"Your parents are seriously the biggest scumbags I’ve ever heard of." Geoff mutters. "So what now? You can’t get chemotherapy just because your parents are stubborn little bitches?"

"Not unless I go back to England."

"Fuck if that’s happening!" Geoff states.

I’m so thankful to have Geoff on my side for this. I’m terrified that Gavin might be seriously considering going back. Not for himself though. Just because he knows that being healthy would make all of us happy.

"What are you going to do, Gav?" I hate to put all of this on him, but my concern overlaps my respect at the moment.

"I’m going to have to go back to England." He murmurs, refusing to look me in the eye. "If my parents stop  _all_ payments, then I can’t live in the hospital anymore.”

"Then come live with me!" I don’t even have to think before I speak the words. At this point I’m willing to do anything than let Gavin move back to England with those horrible people.

"But, Michael-"

"Hell no! You are not living with Michael." Geoff interrupts him, "I know for a fact that he only has a one bedroom apartment. Who knows what kind of hanky-panky you two will get in to."

I roll my eyes at that, “You sound like my grandfather. We’re not teenagers, Geoff.”

"I don’t care. I hereby adopt Gavin as my own son. What I say is law now."

Sometimes Geoff takes the whole parenting/boss thing too seriously.

"Do you  _want_ him to go back to England? Where else is he going to go?” I argue.

Gavin’s quiet throughout all of this. Even if he did try to insert his opinion on the matter I would refuse to listen to it. He’s out to make everybody happy, even if it means putting himself at the bottom of the list. He’d probably be willing to live under a bridge if it meant not having to bother anybody else.

"You can live with me until we figure out what’s going to happen with your treatment." he insists, "Griffon adores you, and Rosie’s been begging to see you again. We have an extra room at our house, and it’d be no problem to move you into it."

"Geoff, really…I don’t want to muck up your-" Gavin gets immediately cut off.

"No arguments. You are now a part of the Ramsey family."

Gavin stops trying to refuse, and a shy grin spreads across his face at the word “family.” He hasn’t been a part of a real one in so long.

"Really?" his voice is so quiet that we can barely hear it. The bashful hope that dances in his eyes makes me smile.

"Of course, buddy."

Gavin finally lets down the barrier. Letting his complete and utter joy shine through his face. He launches himself at Geoff in a hug, wrapping his arms and legs around the older man’s neck and waist.

And everything’s good again.

*

A week later Gavin had moved into the Ramsey household.

Griffon had no objections to it, and even cried when she learned of Gavin’s health predicament. We all agreed not to tell Rosie, but she was ecstatic that her friend was going to be available to play a lot more since he was going to be living with her.

Gavin told me that he missed the hospital, but loved being with the Ramsey’s even more. I’d sometimes surprise him by bringing him to the hospital, and we’d walk around and just talk with all of his friends there.

I was happy to learn that they were all as angry as I was when learning about Gavin’s parents. They would all tell him “Don’t give in to their demands! You’re better than that!” and I could tell it would cheer Gavin up to know that people cared about him so much.

He continued to come to RoosterTeeth as often as he could, and stared in almost all of our Let’s Play’s now. I don’t know if my annoyance towards that fact was genuine or not. The fans went crazy over it though, and would complain if he wasn’tin a video.

Geoff kept asking him if he wanted to be a full time employee, but he’d refuse each time. “Better off saving your money for the healthy.” He’d grin and then change the subject.

He continued to ignore any conversation about getting chemotherapy. Mainly because he knew that it wouldn’t end well, and it wasn’t a big deal to him anymore.

But soon worrying about his treatment became a huge stress on me. Gavin didn’t care much about it, but I definitely did.

"I feel like I’m back to square one with Gavin’s health now." I confide in Geoff, when we’re in the Achievement Hunter office alone one night.

"I called his mother yesterday."

That catches my attention, and I look up at the speed of light, “Really!? What’d she say?”

He just shakes his head with disgust, “Nothing. Just started yelling at me that I should make Gavin move back to England, and when I refused she tried to convince me that I was a terrible person.”

"Fuck. His mom is like Shirley Phelps." I mutter, while rolling my eyes.

"Yeah, no kidding."

"But what now, Geoff? I really don’t want Gavin to lose this battle just because his parents are douche bags. I’m sick of sitting around not being able to do anything to help him. It’s just not fair." I bury my face in my hands.

Geoff’s quiet for a few moments, “You really care about him, don’t you?”

"Of course I do, so do you!" What is he trying to get at?

"I mean you  _really_ care about him. I think you  _love_  him.” He smirks.

I glare at him, “No, I don’t. We aren’t even dating.”

"Whatever you say, man." He leans back in his chair, an astute and smug grin on his face. "But seriously though, don’t worry too much about Gavin’s treatment, okay?"

"How can I  _not_  worry about that?”

"I’ve got something up my sleeve. Don’t look too much into it." And with that he turns his chair back around and goes back to work.

"What’s that even supposed to mean?"

He doesn’t respond after that.

Suddenly I’m thankful that it was Geoff that we told. He completely turned everything around and it gave me such a feeling of relief that I’ll be in his debt for the rest of my life.

He’s a good guy, and I know that Gavin will be in good hands. I’m always laughing whenever he tells me stories of how Geoff gets mad at him for trying to do some kind of crazy dangerous activity for fun. Can you really blame Geoff though? Gavin tried to jump out of the second story window, and onto the trampoline just for the hell of it. He really is an idiot sometimes.

If Geoff says he’s got a plan in regards to Gavin’s treatment, then I trust him.

*

"I’m proud of you, y’know?" I say to him.

We’re sitting on my couch, playing a co-op video game that requires us to work together. It’s not working very well though since Gavin’s so incompetent when it comes to teamwork.  
  


"I can’t imagine why. I didn’t really do anything extraordinary." He assumes that I’m talking about the video game.

"You told Geoff, you didn’t give in to your parents demands, and now you’ve got a family." I smile, pressing buttons rapidly on my controller. I roll my eyes when I notice that Gavin died in the game, which means we have to start the level all over again.

"They’re not  _really_ my family, Michael. It’s just for fun.”

"Yeah," I smile at him, "But you still love it."

He tries to hold back a smirk, “It  _is_ pretty top.”

"So now what? Perfect life, huh?" I’ve started to take Gavin’s approach and completely disregard the cancer aspect of it. Until we know what’s going to happen with his treatment, it’s something that I’ve allowed to be swept under the rug.

I still worry about his health to an uncontrollable degree, but at this point worrying about it won’t help anything. Because as of right now, Gavin isn’t getting treatment. But Geoff’s reassuring words earlier have me convinced that everything might work out for the better. Hopefully.

He shrugs, still focusing on the game, “I guess.”

"What do you mean  _you guess_? You’re living in an actual house, you’re basically working at RoosterTeeth, you’re a honorary member of the Ramsey household, and you’ve got more friends than any person I know.” I list off.

"Yeah." He pauses the game and looks at me, "But I don’t have a boyfriend."

I smirk, “Is that something you want now?”

His eyebrows scrunch together as he thinks about it, “I don’t know. I mean, of course! But, I don’t want to leave you all alone if something bad happens.” By something bad, he means his death.

"You don’t want to make me a widow?" I snicker, which gets him to laugh. We make  _way_  to many stupid marriage jokes because of that ice-cream girl all those months ago.

It’s nice that we’re able to laugh about things this serious now though. Making jokes about Gavin dying makes it feel like it won’t ever happen.

"Pretty much, yeah." He goes back to thinking, "I think it’d be easier for you to get over my death if we weren’t technically together. If we don’t make it official… then it’ll hurt less."

"For me?… or for you?"

"Me." he finally admits after letting out a sigh. "I’d always accepted the fact that I was going to die soon. It didn’t really bother me anymore. But when I met you and we got closer, you messed that up. Then you found out I was sick, and you actually wanted me to get better. How can I die knowing that there’s somebody out there that cares about me that much?"

"Gavin-" He cuts me off by raising a hand.

"Let me finish, Michael." I obey, and continue to let him speak. "When I first got to America I was completely okay with the fact that I didn’t have much time left. Even after I made friends with everybody in the hospital, and had the most fun in my life. And I changed my mind on getting treatment, because I didn’t want my time with  _you_  to end prematurely.”

I still don’t speak, just watching him talk so passionately about this fills my stomach with that cliche butterfly feeling.

"So, even though it’s incredibly selfish of me because I might very well die as early as a week from now…I want to be with you. I want us to be dating. Boyfriends. Whatever you want to call it."

I’ve never heard him speak of our relationship in such a serious tone before. If we ever referenced it out loud, it was usually through jokes and sarcasm. Hearing him say it so plainly with that hint of desperation in his voice, just makes me want to kiss him hard. So I do.

"Of course." I murmur after I pull away. We both smile like giddy children, mainly to hide our slightly red cheeks, and then bring our lips together to kiss again.

 

And no more words are spoken that night. 


	16. Chapter 16

I missed driving Gavin to work with me everyday. But now it wasn’t needed since he’d just hitch a ride with Geoff.

The only good thing to come out of it was what would happen whenever I walked into the office every morning.

"Michael!" A British voice screams from a distance.

I smile and roll my eyes, this is just a daily occurrence now. The pitter patter of his feet running gets louder, and I finally see him running into the main lobby. That usual Gavin Free grin across his face as he charges down the short hallway.

"Gavin!" I yell back, more playfully sarcastic. He laughs before launching himself into my arms.

The feeling of his arms tight around my neck is comfortingly familiar, as is the feeling of his legs being wrapped around my torso.

"Guess what, Michael!" He questions excitedly when he finally steps back a little from me.

"What?"

 

"I have a  _desk_!” and before I’m able to ask what that even means, he darts off into the Achievement Hunter office, “Come see!”

"It’s way too early to deal with your childish bullshit." I yell to him, since he’s no longer in the room. I follow him anyways though, since I was  _sort of_  just joking.

I enter the office and there’s a desk directly in front of me. The empty space that used to be next to mine, now has a another desk in it’s place. There’s nothing on it, but Gavin’s sitting on the top of it, with his legs crossed and a huge grin on his face.

I notice that all the others guys are sitting in their own desks (on their  _chairs_ ), and they’re laughing at Gavin sitting on top of his. With the exception of Ryan who’s just sitting on the couch, laughing.

"You’re going to break it, you moron!" Ray interjects, while smirking.

"Just because you don’t have a chair or computer yet, doesn’t mean you need to sit  _on_  the goddamn desk.” Jack laughs.

"I’m just so excited, lads! It’s like I’m one of you now!"

I laugh along with them when Ray starts chanting “ _One of us, one of us, one of us…_ ”

I love watching Gavin getting along with my friends from work. There was never any awkward first meeting between them all. It was just Gavin barging in with me, making a fool of himself, everybody calling him an idiot, and boom! A friendship was born. He fit right in with us, and understood that every insult we ever threw at one another was all for fun.

Having his own desk here is a huge deal for him. Usually if we let him in a Let’s Play, he’ll share mine with me. I’ve had to put up with having two chairs squeezed in front of my desk for about three weeks now.

Also having Gavin so close to me has been annoying as hell. At least he’ll be a _little_ further away now. As if that’ll stop him from being a total pest.

It’s only after our laughter begins to die down that Geoff starts talking, “Not _like_  one of us, Gavin. You  _are_  one of us now.” a warm smile spreads across his features as he talks “Welcome to Achievement Hunter, buddy.”

They’ve all been expecting Gavin officially join sooner or later. Everybody’s about to let out a cheer to celebrate (in a joking manner) when Geoff puts a hand up to stop them from speaking.

They all seem to understand that something else is going on when they see Gavin’s face. It’s not one of excitement or joy, it’s just confusion and concern. The rest of the guys don’t know that Gavin’s been offered a permanent place on AH numerous times before.

I want nothing more than for Gavin to be working here, mostly just because he’s practically working here already. He literally does all the same things that we do. It’s about time he starts getting paid for it.

Gavin’s been persistent in this though. He doesn’t want to work here because he thinks he’s probably going to die soon. He’s never really had a need for money since his parents paid for everything. Any money he’d be making here now, would just be going straight back to Geoff. We all know that Gavin would insist on trying to pay rent or some shit.

"But, Geoff, I told you countless times-" he begins, but the older man stops him from talking too.

I don’t attempt to speak, because I’m trying to figure out if this connects back to what he said when we were alone in the office a week ago.  _I’ve got something up my sleeve_.

"I told  _you_  that you were going to be joining Achievement Hunter when you were healthy, or getting treatment. Well…guess what?” his grins grows wider, as he watches the British boy trying to piece his words together.

Gavin’s jaw is dropped. He doesn’t care that we’re in a room with people that have no idea that he’s sick, “I’m…I’m getting chemo?”

"Yes." Geoff states, "Your parents agreed that they’ll pay for your medical expenses."

I’m sure that my expression matches Gavin’s. Everything’s seemed so unfair lately. For years he’s been able to get treatment, and had just been denying it. And then when he finally decides to get it, it gets ripped away from him. To hear that he has another chance to get it is a miracle.

But why did his parents suddenly agree to it  _now_? What did Geoff do?

I’d only learned recently that his parents are quite wealthy. Which probably explains their ability to fly back and forth across the ocean just to convince their son to move back to England. Haven’t they ever heard of a damn phone call?

I can’t imagine them changing their mind like that. They’ve obviously very stubborn people. If Geoff is serious right now, I could probably kiss him!

I’m only briefly conscious of somebody saying “What do you mean chemo?” but I’m too focused on Gavin and Geoff right now to worry about it.

"How did you manage to convince them?!" Gavin asks, he’s no longer sitting with his legs crossed. He’s now on his knees, leaning dangerously overly the side of the desk with impatient hope. If he doesn’t lean back soon gravity will take over and he’s going to land face first on the ground.

"We called them on the phone, and said some very threatening and stern words." he states simply.

"We?"

Geoff looks a little guilty, “Yeah. I uh…I had to tell some people about it. I’m sorry, Gavin… But if I was going to get you treatment, I needed reinforcements!”

Gavin doesn’t really seem mad though. He’s probably still too grateful about the treatment, but that doesn’t stop his curiosity “Who’d you tell?”

"Everybody from RoosterTeeth."

"So now  _everybody_  knows I have cancer?” Gavin questions. He still doesn’t look angry, just guilty. I wish more than anything that I could swipe that entire emotion from his brain, because it makes me want to wring his throat when he feels guilty for being sick.

"Dude, you have  _cancer_!?” Ray shouts.

My attention is ripped away from Gavin’s face and focused on the rest of the people in the room. Aside from Geoff and I, they all look shocked and horrified.

"Uh…I didn’t tell  _these_  guys.” our boss scratches the back of his neck nervously.

"Oh. Uh…Surprise?" Gavin murmurs weakly to the petrified group.

I don’t have the patience to deal with this right now. “Yes, yes, Gavin’s deathly ill. Moving on!” I shout, taking a step closer to Geoff, who’s now standing up. “What did you guys say to his parents that convinced them to change their mind?”

"You’re better off not knowing, Michael." He shakes his head, "But let’s just say that Burnie, Gus, Joel, everybody else, and I can be  _very_ convincing when we want to be.”

I don’t question it any further than that, because Gavin turns to me with a huge grin on his face. “I’m getting chemo, Michael! …Again!” He cheers.

Last time Gavin gave me that announcement, it had such a nonchalant meaning to him. But now he’s just shaking with happiness. And I know that it’s because this treatment is now proof that everybody here at RoosterTeeth cares about him almost as much as I do.

Gavin jumps off of the desk and into my arms. I catch him with delight and he refuses to let me go. I can’t stop myself from letting out a joyous laugh, and hugging him back as tight as I can.

I’m too happy to even care that we’ll probably get teased insanely for this later. I crush my lips to Gavin’s in celebration, and he lets out a soft and content hum. I can feel his smile against my mouth.

"Told you that you owed me twenty bucks." I hear Geoff say to Jack smugly. Then after a few seconds he finally says to us, "Don’t swallow each other, you retards!" but it’s said with playful affection.

We move away from one another and just laugh in pure happiness over the whole situation. Geoff walks over and scoops us both up in a huge bear hug.

So many emotions are flashing through my head right now. It seems so familiar to when Gavin told me this in the hospital, but now it’s different. Now the relief is much greater.

This time I wasn’t trying to convince him to change his mind. This time I was stuck sitting around, not able to do anything. I’ve been practically ripping my hair out with frustration, trying to find a solution to all of this for weeks now.

Gavin has a chance of living. He might not  _die_. Just letting the words float through my head brings me enough joy that I don’t immediately back out of this super weird hug.

Displays of affection aren’t common with AH, mainly because we’re all dudes. Gavin was pretty quick to change that when he came here since he loves tackling people with hugs as a joke. What an idiot.

"I have no idea what’s happening right now." Ray states.

I hear Ryan let out a chuckle, “I’ll catch you up to speed. Gavin is sick, but now he’s going to get better. Also Michael has a boner for him.”

I glare at him from my place in the three way hug, “Bite me.”

Gavin lets out a giggle. Ryan doesn’t respond to my remark, but simply comes over and joins our hug, and then the rest follow.

One big Achievement Hunter group hug.

And all because of one little British idiot named Gavin.

"So are we all gonna fuck now, or what?" Ray questions. We all laugh again, but the question does get us to release one another and step back a little. That was just a little too gay for us.

"I can’t believe this! Barbara’s going to flip out!" Gavin muses, bouncing around excitedly.

"Who’s Barbara?" Ryan asks.

"One of my nurses."

"Man…" Jack turns serious, "I just can’t believe  _you_  have  _cancer_. What the hell…”

I have to bite back the urge to say ‘I feel ya’, bro.’ I’ve been in this situation before, where you’re just in major disbelief that Gavin Free could be dying with cancer. I have to give them all credit though, they’re taking it a lot better than me. Then again, they’re relationship with him is much different than mine.

"Yeah, it sucks." Gavin shrugs. I roll my eyes at his nonchalance towards the subject.

"And now since all of you fuckers know, be careful around him." I was never able to give them that warning before since they were still completely in the dark about the topic.

"I’m not made of glass, Michael." Gavin protests.

"Oh yeah?" I mutter, sarcastically, "You have a bruise on your back that’s the size of a watermelon."

He doesn’t bother to argue against that, and merely shrugs it off.

The next hour is spent with Gavin answering questions that the guys have. Like what happened with his parents in the first place, just details about his cancer, etc. And embarrassingly enough they do ask about our relationship, just since it’s so evident now.

"So what’s up with you and Michael? You two boning now?"

Leave it to Ray to ask perverted questions like this. I smack him upside the head, and he lets out a loud laugh in return. He’s damn lucky that he’s one of my best friends.

"We actually started dating officially about a week ago." Gavin answers, with that usual smug grin. It’s not hard to tell that he’s proud of that fact.

"I ship it. Team Mavin."

"Don’t." I say to Ray warningly, "If the fans get a hold of that, they’ll go bat shit crazy with it."

My attempts to be serious are worthless though since I’m smiling. I just can’t contain my happiness. I expected today to just be normal. Hearing that Gavin can get treatment now is something so unbelievable that I want to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming.

"Speaking of the fans, are you going to tell them about your…predicament?" Ryan questions, referring to his sickness, "You  _are_  an official member of Achievement Hunter now.”

"I don’t know." Gavin suddenly looks down at the floor self consciously.

"Nobody’s going to get mad at you."

"Why would anybody get mad at you for having cancer?"

"Michael did." Gavin points at me, but he says it with a smile.

I grin back, “No I didn’t, you asshole. I got mad that you didn’t  _tell_ me.”

"I did tell you!"

"Yeah, after I found pills in your coat pocket and forced it out of you."

He laughs, “You still got mad at me, Michael  _Rage Quit_ Jones.”

"You’re a fucking idiot." I scoff, and smack his arm after he does the face at me. What was it he called it? Nostril flare number two?

Then a thought occurs to me since I brought up the pills, “Are you still taking pain medication?”

I watch him tense up for a brief second before muttering, “Yeah, of course.”

He’s good at avoiding the truth, but shit at lying.

My eyes widen, “You fucking liar. Why are you not taking your pain medication?!”

He rolls his eyes, “Because I don’t live in a hospital anymore, Michael. Also, my parents cut me off, remember?”

"Are you in pain right now?"

"…Not  _right_ now.”

"You really are a fucking idiot." Geoff says to him, while I rub my face with my hands in frustration. "Why didn’t you say something? I would have given you money for pain medication, you moron!"

"So would I!" I yell.

"I’m not a child. I can deal with a little pain. I didn’t want to be a bother."

Fuck, I want to wring his little British neck so bad.

"You’ve got to stop putting others before yourself, dumbass." I mutter.

There’s no point in arguing about it now. He’d be getting treatment and pain pills now regardless of if he told us that or not. But just thinking about Gavin lying on Geoff’s bathroom floor, curled up in pain and trying not to cry because of it, makes me even more frustrated.

"I’m sorry, okay?" it would have seemed sincere if he hadn’t rolled his eyes like a teenager being scolded.

"It’s not okay. But I guess it doesn’t matter much now." Geoff sighs. "Come on, let’s all go out for pizza to celebrate Gavin getting treatment." I push the whole pain medication thing to the back of my head and decide to deal with it later. Gavin cheering loudly over pizza is the only thing I can think about now.

"Yeah, because we don’t have jobs or anything." Ray jokes on our way out.


	17. Chapter 17

It was just a regular, boring Thursday afternoon. I was busy editing a Rage Quit, even though it wasn’t necessary. I already had one ready for this week, and had plenty of time to edit this one. But I was too bored, and needed something to occupy myself so that I wouldn’t go crazy.

It was a boring day.

I’m only briefly aware of the Achievement Hunter door opening, and Gavin walking through, holding a phone to his ear.

He sits down at his desk, which now looks like a bomb’s been dropped on it. We finally got him a computer and a chair, and he’s already managed to make a huge mess all over his desk with random papers and pointless junk.

I have headphones on, so I can’t hear what he’s saying into his phone. He doesn’t pay any attention to me, even though I’m the only person in the room. He’s obviously very engrossed in his phone call judging by the expression on his face.

I pull the headphones down so that they hang off of my neck. Time to be a nosy little bastard. “What’s up, Gavin?”

 

He turns his attention around to me, but doesn’t bother pulling the phone away from his ear when he answers me, “Oh, hey, Michael! I didn’t see you there.”

I smirk, “Clearly. Who you talkin’ to?”

"Barbara, and she’s being  _very annoying_!” He yells the last two words into the phone so that he’s sure that she’ll hear them. She obviously does since I can hear the loud, high pitched yelling coming from the phone.

Gavin just rolls his eyes and ignores her. I can’t stop myself from chuckling, sometimes they’re just too amusing. “What are you guys fighting about now? Did Barbara make another stupid pun?”

"Not this time." He says to me, and I hear her saying something again, "No, Barbara! I will not put you on speaker!" he says his words slowly as though he’s speaking to a toddler.

"Dude, put her on speaker."

He gives me a betrayed look, but I know it’s all in good fun, “Who’s side are you on?”

"Nobodies yet. I have no idea what’s going on." He lets out an over exaggerated sigh of defeat, and then presses a button on the phone. "Hi, Barbara." I greet her.

"Oh, I’m on speaker? Good! Michael, help me convince Gavin to shave his head." She gets straight to business.

"What!? Why do you want him to shave his head!?" the boy in question just gives me a look that says ‘told you that you’d want to be on my side.’ I stick out my tongue at him, and he returns the favour. Because we are obviously mature adults in a serious relationship.

I don’t want Gavin to shave his head! I like his hair. It has this messy and crazy style that looks like he crawled out of bed and was immediately sucked into a tornado. But there’s something that’s endearing about it.

I like running my hands through it after he falls asleep on my couch when we’re watching a movie. Even the times when he pretends to have fallen asleep just so I’ll do that.

Gavin’s hair simply adds to his odd and adventurous personality. And I like that.

"Since he’s starting chemo soon, there’s a great chance that he’ll lose his hair." She states.

"But I didn’t lose my hair last time! It didn’t fall out then, so why would it fall out now?" he argues back at her.

"It’s going to be different every time, Gavin."

"But I like my hair! And Michael likes my hair!"

He knows me too well, I guess.

"Michael!" She yells to me. She says it so loud that I straighten my back and look at the phone as though I’m about to be scolded. I have to remind myself that she’s not actually in the room. "Would you rather Gavin be healthy and bald, or sick with hair?"

"Healthy and bald." I respond easily. That wasn’t even something I had to think about. Even though I do like his hair, it’s definitely not worth him being sick.

"Michael!" Gavin whines, as though he expected my answer to be different.

"What did you  _think_  I was going to say!?” I roll my eyes. “But why does he have to shave his head? Doesn’t it just fall out anyways?”

I’ve been trying to do research on cancer so that I’d at least have  _some_ knowledge on the subject. I’d look like such an idiotic prick for not knowing anything about my own boyfriends illness. But I still only have as much medical knowledge as I did when I was ten years old.

"Yeah, but it’s strongly advised for cancer patients to shave their heads before hand, because it gives you a sense of having control. Letting your hair fall out on it’s own lets the cancer think that it’s the one in control." her voices goes softer, as though being motherly will help her argument.

"It’s cancer, Barbara! It doesn’t have thoughts and feelings. It’s not a world dictator!" He says to the phone. I’m reminded of when I first met Barbara and Gavin, and thought that they could be brother and sister. They certainly fight as though they are.

"You know what I mean, Gavin." She turns stern, "I’ve seen you have mental breakdowns over your health. If you feel this strongly about your hair  _now_ , then I’m really concerned for when it falls out on it’s own.”

He’s had mental breakdowns before? As hard as I try, I can’t picture Gavin taking his health so seriously that he’d be upset and stressing over it. He’s always been so nonchalant about his disease, and always shrugged off any complications that have come up.

I didn’t even consider that there could be a point in his life where he let his own health be his main point of concern. A mental breakdown. Using the word in relation to Gavin just seems confusing all on it’s own.

I don’t get much time to ponder on the subject, because he’s gone back to sighing and groaning like a teenage girl. “But I might not lose it!”

"I’m not willing to take that chance." She states, strictly.

If Gavin losing all of his hair results in a mental breakdown, I’d feel incredibly guilty. I know that he’s not refusing to shave it  _just_ because I like it, but it’s probably a major factor.

Gavin’s mental health is just as important as his physical health.

"If it helps at all, I think you should shave it off too." I pitch in.

"How could that help?" Gavin cries. He gives me a pouty kicked-puppy look, wanting me to change my mind. I roll my eyes at that too.

"Thank you, Michael." Barbara says, and I can practically  _hear_  the smug smile in her voice.

He lets out a defeated sigh, “I don’t want to do it.”

"It’s just hair, buddy." I speak softly. We’re obviously past the yelling part of this conversation, and for once I’m happy that I wasn’t a part of it. It’s nice to not be the one getting angry during an argument. "For the record, I think it’d be cute."

I try to say that as non-mushy as possible, but it’s hard considering it sounds like something an idiotic girl in a chick flick would say. That’s proven when Barbara lets out a loud “Awwww!”

"Shut up." I scowl.

"You’re just saying that to be nice. I like my hair. Shaving it off would actually be  _giving_  cancer control since it’s something I wouldn’t have done otherwise.”

He makes a good point, but it’s not convincing her. “Gavin. If you don’t do it yourself, I’m going to sneak into Geoff’s house with a pair of scissors and chop off all of that hair myself.”

Barbara and Geoff met not too long ago. She was curious about who Gavin was going to live with, and since she’s taken on this older-sister role, had to make sure he wasn’t some sort of weird creeper guy. She easily approved and they had a hefty chat about the treatment and stuff while Gavin and I snuck off to the roof to make out.

"No you wouldn’t."

"If you don’t stop being such a whiny little brat, your hair won’t be the only thing I’ll cut off!"

I raise an eyebrow in amusement when I watch his eyes widen with fear and disbelief. He obviously buys into it enough that he’s willing to back down. I’ve seen Barbara threaten people before, and she always goes through with them.

"Fine!" He yells, but his voice goes quiet and hesitant when he mutters "…I’ll shave my damn head."

She sighs, “I know it sucks, Gav. But it’s for the better.” Gavin’s not visibly upset very often, but when he is it tears me apart.

"I know."

"Do you want me to do it for you? I can be your barber-ra!" She throws in another one of her shitty puns to lighten the mood.

"No." he stops pouting about it, and giggles a little at her lame joke. Gavin’s ability to turn from upset to happy will never cease to amaze me. He’s like an emotion wizard. But it doesn’t take a genius to know that he’s just trying to force the feeling of discontent away for our expense. "I want Michael to do it."

"What!? Me!?" I’ve never shaved somebody’s head before! I’ve been researching cancer, not how to become a barber.

"Yeah, it’ll be fun. Bonding experience." He grins. I wish  _I_  could switch emotions that easily.

"That sounds like a great idea!" Barbara agrees.

Goddamn it.

*

"You do know that I’m probably going to end up shaving your ear off, right?"

A few hours after that conversation with Barbara, I find myself in my bathroom with Gavin sitting in front of me. We’re both facing the mirror and I’ve got an electric trimmer in my hand.

The bullshit I get dragged into.

"I trust you." he states, with a grin. I roll my eyes and I smack him upside the head. He just laughs.

"I’ve never done this before." I mutter unsure, as I look at the trimmer. How hard could it be? There’s a guard on it so it’s basically impossible to accidentally kill him with it. But it still makes me nervous.

"It’s my first time too. Be gentle, Michael." He whispers dramatically. I look up to see that he’s got a cheeky grin spread across his face. His crude humor knows no bounds.

"Stop it, you fucking idiot." I hit his head once again, "I’m being serious here. I can’t believe you trust me to put sharp implements next to your scalp."

He lets out an impatient sigh, “You’re not the one losing your hair here, Michael.”

He’s got me there.

"Fuck. I don’t know why I’m freaking out over this." I mutter.

"Let’s just not do it then." he begins to stand up, but I put a firm hand on his shoulder and force him to sit back down. He lets out an annoyed groan at that, "I don’t want to shave my head, Michael."

"You heard what Barbara said." is the only response I can come up with.

I look through the instructions that came with the trimmer, but they’re all incredibly tiny and in various languages. For fucks sakes, I just want to know how to turn the damn thing on!

There’s too many buttons on this stupid machine. What could they even be for!? I just start randomly pushing them, hoping that I’ll randomly come across the power one.

My logic appears to work when it randomly comes to life and begins buzzing loudly. Gavin jumps at the noise it makes.

"Okay. I guess this is it." I run my hands through his hair, mainly just so that I can get one last feel. Doing this is painful for me too. I like his hair just as much as he does. It’s sad to see it go.

I let out a sigh, and muster up all of my courage as I move the trimmer closer to his head.

"Wait! Stop!" Gavin yells. I look in the mirror and at his face.

"You okay?" I question when I see how panicked he looks and turn off the handheld machine.

"I…I don’t know. Just give me a moment." Even though he’s had all day to prepare for this, I comply. He takes a few deep breaths and just simply stares at his own hair in the mirror.

I simply put my hand back to play with his hair, knowing that I won’t get the chance to do that for a long time. I don’t know if it helps him or not though.

"Sorry." he murmurs.

"No worries."

"…I’m just scared. The more permanent decisions I have to make, the more this whole cancer thing seems real, you know?" I don’t respond and just let him talk like I usually do when he has rants like this, "It’s so much easier to just push all of it to the back of my brain. But I can’t do that if things like this keep happening… I might have cancer, but I don’t want to  _look_  like I have cancer.”

"You won’t. You’ll look like Gavin." I murmur affectionately as I bend down to press a kiss to his hair.

"Bald Gavin." he mutters, while looking down in discontent, "It’s going to look stupid."

"No it won’t."

"Promise you won’t leave if it does?"

Is that why he’s worried? If he thinks that’s going to happen then he’s in for a rude awakening.

"I told you I was in this for the long haul, dude. A little shave isn’t going to scare me away now."

He doesn’t look anymore convinced though. “Just do it and get it over with.”

His attitude makes me feel hesitant, “…Are you sure, dude?”

"Just get on with it, Michael!"

I don’t respond, and just simply turn the barber tool back on. He doesn’t jump at the sound of it this time.

I feel my eyebrows push up in concern as I bring them close to his head again. Gavin’s face is so straight and emotionless that Lady Gaga’s trying to write songs about it.

The sound of the trimmer turns louder and more harsh when it gets to his scalp, and begins to do it’s job. I can see the hair falling away once it gets cut off, and it makes me want to stop, but I continue to shave his head.

It’s not as big of a deal as I’ve been making it to be. After all, it’s just hair. It’ll grow back. But being in charge of shaving my own boyfriends head just makes me feel so responsible, and it makes me worried that I’ll fuck it up.

He could have easily gotten Barbara to do this, but he wanted  _me_  to do it. I don’t know if him trusting me this much is good or bad.

I don’t even realize that I finished. The entire thing couldn’t have taken very long, but it still feels like it flew by in the matter of seconds. I was too engrossed in my thoughts to even notice.

I turn off the trimmer and look into the mirror to see Gavin. He doesn’t really look any different. Just like what you’d expect him to look like. Just without any hair. It looks cute. Adorable even.

"I like it." I state, with a proud smile. I did good.

"I don’t." he mutters. I look at his face and he looks miserable.

My eyebrows scrunch together in confusion, “Why not? It’s cute. I think it looks nice.”

“ _I think_  it looks like I have cancer.”

I rub my hand on his head, the incredibly short hair is rough against my fingers, but not uncomfortable.

"Gavin." I start, but he cuts me off.

"Just stop, Michael. You might think it looks nice, but it’s not. I’ve had to see so many people without hair…all because cancer took it away. And I’d be so grateful that I still had mine. That I was even able to grow mine out long enough to make a wig for a little girl. Now I just look like another victim of this bloody disease, and… it’s hard."

"It doesn’t look like that though." I say, honestly, "Just because your bald, doesn’t mean that you look like you have cancer now. You look just as healthy as you did with hair."

"It still looks ugly. And I don’t like it." He pouts.

"Stop it. I hate it when you’re like this." I scowl. Every time he’s serious or upset, it makes me feel ten times worse. Where’s the overly confident and happy Gavin that’s always bouncing around and getting on everybody’s nerves?

“ _I_  hate being like  _this_.” he refers to his head.

"I’m being completely honest here, Gavin. I like you whether you have hair or not. It doesn’t change anything about you." I state sternly. Sometimes it’s impossible to get words into Gavin’s thick skull.

He just mutters “That’s easy for you to say.”

It’s only then that I start to get really angry. Why does he think that having hair or not changes anything!? The only thing that’s bad about this situation is his shitty attitude towards it!

"You know what!?" I yell, "Fuck this."

I don’t even think about it. I just turn the trimmer back on and quickly lift it to my own hair. The buzzing once again makes the loud and angry noise when it reaches my curly hair, and begins to remove it. I drag the device all the way down the back of my head, and when that’s done, I move back to the crown of my hair to do it again.

The trimmer is incredibly loud, but the sound of Gavin’s gasp is louder.

"Michael!" he yells in shock.

I don’t respond, and just continue to shave my head like I did with his. I look down at his face in the mirror, while still shaving, to see that he looks completely horrified. His eyes are wide and his jaw is practically dropped to the floor.

Shaving my own hair off seems like it takes longer than Gavin’s did. I’m not sure if I did it in order to prove a point, or if I just didn’t want him to feel so alone in this. I didn’t even consider it. As soon as the idea came into my head, I just raised the damn thing to my scalp. But either way, I don’t regret it.

My own hair is a lot shorter than Gavin’s is. I’d actually only just gotten it trimmed so that it wasn’t so long during the summer. It won’t take as long to grow back as his will since his was a little longer, but the point still stands.

He finally starts to regain the ability to speak, and he yells out “Michael! Stop! Why would you even…” he can’t even finish that sentence because he’s still in complete shock as he watches me finish it off.

I turn off the trimmer and don’t even bother looking at the completely finished project in the mirror, because I simply don’t care. I put the machine on the bathroom counter, and just watch Gavin’s face.

He stops staring at me through the mirror, and stands up so that he can look at me face to face. He stares at the top of my head, which is now just as hairless as his is. There’s still locks of his hair scattered on his shoulders and shirt, and I’m sure I’m the same way. But it doesn’t matter right now.

"Michael…You just…" he whispers.

"Listen to me." I grab him by the shoulders and look him dead in the eye, which forces his attention away from my head. "Am I any different to you now?"

He opens his mouth to give me a verbal response, but fails to do so. Concern, confusion, and shock are still evident on his face as he shakes his head no slowly.

"Am I still your boyfriend? Michael Jones?"

He shakes his head ‘yes’ with the same slow speed as the response before.

"That’s right. Because I’m still  _me_. And you’re still  _you_. And a little bit of hair is never going to change that.”

His face twists up with an emotion I’ve never seen him use before. It looks like he’s about to cry, but instead he wraps his arms around me quickly and holds me in a hug so tight that I’m hardly able to breath.

"Thank you." I hear him whisper quietly against my shoulder.

I hug him back gently, and close my eyes as I rest my own head against his shoulder. The sound of his shaky breathing urges me to comfortingly rub his back until it begins to go back to normal. I don’t know how long we stand there, simply holding one another.

And he’s still the same old Gavin.


	18. Chapter 18

Gavin and I are completely quiet, letting the silence of the night settle into the air. The only noise is our breathing, and it’s nice. I keep having to force myself to not fall asleep.

For some reason he likes doing dumb cliche things that cheesy teenagers in over dramatic romance movies do. For example, sitting on the hood of my car in a clearing, while looking up at the stars. Which is exactly what we’re doing now.

When I asked him what he wanted to do for ‘date night’, he said this. Which I teased him for endlessly. “It’s hard to do all of this lovey dovey teenage cliche stuff when you’re in the hospital.” he pointed out. And that easily shut me up.

Gavin missed out on a lot of things that one could consider “normal” due to living life in a hospital. And it was obvious that he was desperate to fill those gaps with memories of the two of us. If he couldn’t do them when he was supposed to, then I can at least let him do them now.

Besides, the night sky and silence is nice. Comforting even.

I don’t ever remember there being a phase between us where there was an uncomfortable silence. If things ever got quiet, it wasn’t awkward or weird. But it’s not like things were quiet all that often anyways. Gavin has quite the “gob” on him, as he would say.

"Would you rather…lick a dogs asshole, or give a homeless person a blowjob?" he questions, innocently.

 

"Gavin. What the fuck." I respond in an average volume.

"You have to answer, Michael!"

"Do you just sit at home and think of fucked up questions to ask people?"

He snickers, “…Maybe.”

"How long has the man been homeless?" Might as well go along with his stupid game. He’ll never shut up until I answer.

"Around five years."

"Limited access to showers?"

"Yup."

"What about the dog?"

"He’s a part of a loving family of four. Two parents, two children. They love him and he gets groomed a lot but he’s also a pretty disobedient dog."

"Anymore  _details_  to add, you idiot?” I ask, he goes  _way_  too into depth with these stupid hypothetical questions.

"No, that’s probably it. Now choose." I turn to look at him, and he’s grinning.

As much as I hate to admit it, these dumb “dates” we go on are my favourite. They always seem so sweet and innocent, but then Gavin goes and turns it into something stupid and amusing.

"I’d go for the dog. It wouldn’t take as long." I answer.

His face turns to confusion for a moment, “I hadn’t thought about that. Well, what if it was reversed? What if you had to give the blowjob to the dog and lick the homeless man’s assho-” I shove him roughly so that he almost falls off the hood of the car. “Michael!” he whines.

"Mi-cool!" I mock.

His brow furrows, “What’s got you all crabby tonight?”

"I’m not  _crabby_.”

"Well, you’re miffed off then. What’s up?"

It’s true. I’ve been in a ‘not the greatest’ mood lately.

I give him a shrug, and then lean back so that I’m lying down with my head near the wind shield. Our feet are resting on the ledge near the grill, so that we won’t slip off.

I hope that maybe he’ll just let it go, but no such luck. He follows suit and lays down next to me. I notice that his head is turned so that he’s staring at me, but I just continue to look up at the sky.

"…Michael?" he murmurs.

The silence returns for a few moments.

"You’re starting chemo tomorrow, aren’t you?" I finally say. Our voices are both more quiet now, but since we’re so alone here, we can hear each other clearly.

"Yeah… does that worry you?"

"Of course it does."

"Why? You’re not the one getting it." he smiles, and I know that he’s just trying to be optimistic about the whole situation.

"I keep thinking of chemotherapy as this magical thing that’s going to cure you instantly, and then everything will be happy and fine. But that’s not at all what it’s like, huh?"

He chuckles, “Not at all.”

"You’re going to be in pain, aren’t you?"

"Sometimes."

I don’t know if he’s under exaggerating or not. And I’m about to call him on his bullshit, but he starts talking again, “Michael, I just want you to know that everything’s going to be okay. I know that you’ve been stressing out about this.”

He’s right. “I worry about you.” I murmur, still not turning my head to look at him.

"You don’t have to.  _I’m_  the one worrying about  _you_.”

I finally turn to look at him, and I can’t control the confused look across my face, “What? Me?”

"Yes  _you_.” he smiles, probably because he finally got me to look at him, and then intertwines his fingers in mine. “I think it’s time to have one of those serious conversations.”

"Goddammit." I mutter.

"I hate it just as much as you do."

"We don’t need to have a serious conversation, because nothing bad is going to happen. You’re going to be fine, Gavin."

"No… There’s a very high chance that I’ll die."

I look back up at the sky abruptly, “Stop it.”

He squeezes my hand a little tighter and whispers “Michael.”

I don’t give in and look at him again.

"Michael, please?"

I can’t stand listening to Gavin talk about death. He says it so casually, and with such confidence that it scares me.

He sighs with frustration. “You have to come to terms with it, Michael. Whether you want it or not, I’m going to die. It might not be today, it might not be tomorrow. But it’s going to happen. And I don’t want you to freak out when it does.”

"It might not."

"Yes, there’s a _low_  chance that I’ll survive. And that low chance is the only reason why I’m doing this all again. I want you to be happy. I’ve been through this enough, Michael. I know what chemotherapy is like… and it’s rough. I don’t want to sugar coat it for you, because I have the feeling that you’re going to stick around no matter how terrible it gets.”

"…But you’ll be okay though."

Despite the ‘serious conversation time’, he lets out a snicker. “You’re going through the denial phase.”

"No I’m not, you prick."

He just chuckles, “It’s okay. Don’t stress out about it.”

Sometimes it’s so easy to lose my cool around Gavin. He knows he’s being an asshole, and he does it  _just_ to make me angry.

"Gavin!" I yell, not caring that I’m disturbing the silence, "Don’t tell me to not stress out. You’re fucking dying, you asshole."

"I believe that’s anger."

"Of course I’m angry, you fucker. Why can’t you just  _be_  healthy!? It’s not fucking fair.” I continue to yell, my anger slowly melting into pure frustration.

It’s not that I’m angry at Gavin, I’m just trying to get out all of my pent up stress out in someway. And being the “Rage Quitter” that I am, screaming and yelling seems to be the best way to do it.

"I don’t even know what bargaining means, so I can’t even point out if you’re going through that one or not." he muses, not even paying attention to my minor freak out. But judging by the sly smile on his face, he’s just pretending to ignore it.

I let out a frustrated groan, “Stop with the five stages of grief bullshit.”

"Anger seems to be your favourite response to everything." he smiles.

"Shut the fuck up."

"It’s what I like about you though. If  _you_  had cancer, it would be so scared of you that it would just run away.”

"I’m pretty sure that’s not how it works, Gavin."

"You could just scream really loud and the cancer would shrink away to nothing."

"That’s probably your worst bullshit-theory yet." I grin.

He gasps excitedly, though I know it’s over dramatized, “None of my theories are bullshit.”

I just chuckle at him, and he moves closer towards me until his head is resting against my arm.

He doesn’t try to talk anymore about ‘serious matters.’ He just lays there, looking up at the stars with me. I’m pretty sure he’s still thinking about it, trying to think of a good way to bring it up again. But Gavin’s still the people-pleaser that he’s always been, and if he knows that this is something I don’t want to talk about…Then he isn’t going to do it.

I’m just not ready to have the “Gavin Free is going to die soon” talk. It makes it seem more real, and it makes it that much harder to pretend. It’s rare for him to be the one wanting to talk things through, and me trying to pretend that serious issues don’t exist.

Even though Gavin wouldn’t think that way, I don’t want him believing that I’m mad at him. Sometimes he’s just so passive that he’s willing to let people walk all over him. For example; me.

I care about him too much sometimes.

"Gavin…" I murmur, but I’m only met with the sounds of his heavy breathing. "Gav?"

I lean up a bit to examine his face. His eyes are closed and he’s asleep. I let out a soft sigh, “You’re hopeless.” I smile to myself, while softly running a hand over his head.

The conversation can wait until another day.

*

Then Gavin started chemotherapy.

I’d imagined it being some magical thing that would make Gavin instantly better with no side effects. I obviously don’t know anything about medicine. I’d make the world’s shittiest doctor.

It seemed that way for the first while. Gavin seemed perfectly fine, but the downward spiral was quick. It wasn’t hard to notice that he was in immense pain a lot of the time. Sometimes I’d catch him squeezing his eyes closed, and clenching his fists, as though waiting for a wave of pain to pass.

And even though I noticed it, I wouldn’t point it out to him. Asking him if he was okay would only result in him trying to hide it better.

So as time passed, I tried not to pay attention to anything related to Gavin’s sickness.

The fear of Gavin dying at any moment was beginning to get to me, and although I tried not to let anyone know, it was really difficult to deal with. I just wanted to sit in a dark room and punch things until Gavin was healthy, but instead I’d have to just smile through it and pretend that everything was fine.

I don’t know how Gavin does it everyday.

He really is the  _king_  of pretending.

He still acts as though he’s totally fine, but I know him better than that now. I can see how much pain he’s in when I come to visit. And it’s the most horrible feeling in the world.

After living with the Ramsey’s for so long, he decided to go back to living in the hospital until he got better. They’d go to visit him as often as they could though, and I’d usually go with them.

But it was better to go to see him alone, we’d have long conversations about nothing in particular. It was really rare that we’d actually talk about the cancer or treatment.

The most that was usually said about it would be, “How you feelin’, man?”

"Better!" he’d respond, cheerfully.

But I knew he wasn’t. Every week it looked like he was doing worse. And in return, it felt like the mental and emotional toll it was taking on me was getting worse.

I’d hardly get any sleep, and if I did I’d be woken up by nightmares I’d never end up remembering in the morning. I started to lose my appetite and felt like I’d have to force myself to eat sometimes. Even though my hair was growing back quite nicely, I just looked plain horrible. Even people around the office started to notice.

"You doing okay, Michael?" Ray asked me one day at work. I give him a weak shrug in response. "We’re getting kind of worried about you."

"You don’t need to be."

"When was the last time you got a full night of sleep?"

I rack my brain trying to think of the answer, but I can’t think back far enough. When Gavin started getting treatment? When it started to seem obvious that he was in constant pain?

I mumble out, “I don’t know.”

He sighs, “I know it’s hard, dude. But Gavin’s tough. He’ll pull through this.” I don’t respond. It’s something I try not to think about. Death has been pushed to the furthest part of my brain and it’s going to be left there to rot. “Come on, let’s go get some lunch. My treat.”

"But, Ray-"

He cuts me off immediately, “No, buts, Michael.”

Ray isn’t the only one trying to take care of me as though I’m a child. Geoff, Jack, Ryan, Burnie, etc, they’d all ask me if I was doing alright. As if  _I_ was the one dying in a hospital bed. But I was grateful to have such good friends that didn’t ditch me as soon as I started throwing bitch fits over it.

Eventually as things began to stable out, then I started to feel a  _little_ better. Gavin’s health wasn’t getting any better, but at least it wasn’t getting any worse.

The fact that he went from looking so healthy to looking like death was just so terrifying and scary. And it was even worse because he seemed to just accept it. It wasn’t fair that something like this could be normal for somebody.

And now that I’m watching him actually go through chemo, it seems as though it’s not worth it. He was right to believe that he might not survive it. I would hate for him to die like this.

At least when he wasn’t getting treatment he wasn’t in constant pain. He was better at pretending when he wasn’t throwing up everyday.

Life  _before_  Gavin was so much more simple.

There was no worrying about hospitals, cancer, and chemotherapy treatment. I was getting enough sleep. Everything was quiet and peaceful (at least compared to what it’s like now.)

But I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Because experiencing life with Gavin Free can make you feel like the luckiest person alive. He’s so loud and obnoxious. He asks impossibly stupid questions, and is willing to put his safety in danger just for the sake of a joke.

But that’s what makes him Gavin.

No matter how much I wish I could, I can’t make Gavin healthy. So the most I can do is try to ignore the negatives, and focus on the positives.

And the biggest positive right now is that Gavin is alive.

*

"Hello, Mr. Jones." the secretary greets me as I enter the hospital.

We still aren’t exactly on good terms, and she says it will a sarcastic smile. I give her a smile back, yet give her a look that shoves that sarcasm right back at her. I don’t know if we actually do hate each other, it’s more like a little game we play whenever I come to the hospital.

I’ve somehow managed to make friends with a lot of the people around here. I’m already familiar with certain routes in the hospital. So walking down the hallway to get to Gavin’s room isn’t confusing or frustrating anymore.

I pass by people who wave at me, and say “Hello!”

Gavin and I always walk around the hospital and talk to all of his friends. I’ve become good friends with a lot of people in here as a result of that.

"Hey, boy!" I hear a gruff voice shout.

I stop walking down the hall and turn my head towards the source of the noise. It’s Gregory and Phillip, the two grumpy old men that love watching golf.

I smile when I see them, “Hey, guys!”

Overtime I’ve somehow managed to get them to like me. Gavin and I spent a whole day once just listening to their stories and watching golf with them. They really are hilarious, and it’s so funny to listen to them argue with the doctors and nurses. They’re always so grumpy and they love to complain about pointless things.

"Why are you here so late?" Gregory questions, as I walk over to stand next to them.

"I promised Gavin that I’d come visit this morning, but then I got stuck at work. So I told him I’d come tonight to made up for it."

I continue to ask them about their golf show, and they complain about the scores and the announcer being a “stubborn little asshole.” They’re not as nice to me as they are to Gavin, but it’s still better than how they treated me when we first met.

The men go quiet after a little while. The only noises besides the usual murmur of the hospital is the announcer on the golf game. He sounds way to excited about golf, in my opinion.

"…We’re worried about our boy."

"Yeah… We hear that he’s not doing so well."

He’s hard hearing the people in the hospital talking about Gavin’s health. I’ve been trying as hard as I can to keep optimistic about it. But it’s difficult when everybody’s saying that he’s deteriorating. They’d obviously know more about this medical mumbo jumbo than I would.

Maybe it’s better to just talk about it to somebody. These guys appear to be just as upset about it as I am. I sigh and look down, “It’s not fair that he’s not getting any better. I thought getting treatment would be a good thing. I didn’t think it was going to kill him  _faster_.”

Phillip looks at me with sympathy.

I’m not exactly sure when they decided that they didn’t hate me. They obviously still have a bit of resentment towards me for some reason that I’m not aware of. But at least they’re willing to act somewhat kindly towards me, even if it’s only out of their concern for Gavin.

"He’ll be fine. Our boy always pulls through."

I’m not sure if I believe them or not.

"Boys! It’s time for your medicine!" A familiar peppy voice calls out. We all look up to see Barbara walks down the hall, a clipboard in her hands. The men groan at the thought of taking their medicine. She looks up from her clipboard and notices me there, "Hi, Michael!

"Hey, Barb."

She notices my expression. I usually come into the hospital looking content and forcing myself to smile through it, but talking to Greg and Phil about Gavin’s predicament by myself makes it harder.

"Oh, Michael." She sighs, understanding why I’m so down. Everybody’s been sighing while talking to me lately, and I don’t like it. "He’s doing well. Chemo’s a tricky thing."

"Yeah." I say softly, while standing up.

She pulls me into a hug, and says “This ones for you,” then kisses my right cheek. “And this ones for Gavin.” she moves over and kisses my left cheek.

*

As soon as I enter Gavin’s room, I’m met with the sounds of somebody retching violently.

"Gavin?" I call out, and look to the closed bathroom door.

"Michael?" he yells back and then groans, "Go away."

I ignore him and just walk closer to the bathroom door. “You okay, buddy?”

"I don’t want you to see me like this." He doesn’t get to say anything else because I can hear him vomiting again.

I close my eyes and rest my forehead against the door, trying to summon the courage to enter.

I hate listening to him in pain.

I know it sounds so selfish of me. Gavin’s the one that’s having a hard time. It may be taking an emotional toll on me, but it’s taking a  _physical_  toll on him. And I feel like a prick for getting upset when he’s obviously a lot worse off than I am at the moment.

I open up the door and I just want to cry at the sight before me.

Gavin’s kneeled over the toilet, his elbows resting on the seat, and his head buried in his hands. He’s breathing heavily, his face is white and he’s covered in sweat.

He shakes his head when he hears me enter, but doesn’t look at me. “Michael…” he murmurs, “Go away, Michael.”

I don’t listen, and just go over to sit down next to him. “Shhh…” I whisper, and rub his back.

He finally takes his face out of his hands.

"You okay?" I question.

He shakes his head ‘no’, and then moves so that he’s leaning against the wall. I do the same and sit next to him.

He looks absolutely horrible.

I’ve watched movies before where the characters are going through chemotherapy, and they never seem to be like this. Gavin’s as pale as I’ve ever seen him, his cheeks look a little sunken in, he’s covered in a layer of sweat, and he has faint dark circles under his eyes. He’s got tubes connected to his nose, and wrists. They connect to the bag on the portable IV thing on wheels that’s next to us.

He rests his head against my shoulder and tries to stable out his breathing.

I try not to pay attention to how weak his breathing sounds. I instead focus on the noises of the hospital hall. I can hear people talking, things being wheeled around, and the occasional beeping noises.

"I’m sorry, Michael." Gavin murmurs.

"You have nothing to apologize for. It’s not your fault you’re sick."

"No…I’m dying, Michael… I don’t think I have much time left… I’m sorry that I’m leaving you like that."

I close my eyes.

It’s a hard thing to process. I’ve known all along that Gavin might die, but hearing him say it out loud like this still shocks me. It’s as though I’m hearing it for the first time.

I’m reminded of how angry I got when I first found out he was deathly sick. I’ll never stop feeling guilty about it, regardless of how many times he forgives me.

But it’s true. None of this is our fault. Gavin was just dealt a shitty hand in this card game, and now that we’re partners, I’m along for the ride.

"Remember when we first met?" I ask, and I feel a smile form on my face, "And I hated you so much."

He lets out a weak chuckle, “Yeah. I was purposely being a twat to you because you were so mad.”

I laugh, “You’re such an asshole.”

"…Are you happy that we met that day?"

"Yeah. Of course. Why would you even ask?"

"You’d be better off without me around."

"Gavin-"

"No. Listen, Michael." He takes his head off of my shoulder and look me in the eye. "I know that you’ve been taking this really hard. And Geoff’s been telling me that you’ve been having trouble sleeping and eating because of it. But you seriously can’t let yourself get depressed like that. I want you to promise me that even when I’m gone, you’re going to be okay."

He’s got that serious look in his eyes, and he puts a hand on my shoulder to steady himself. He looks a little light headed and dizzy.

"…I can’t promise that, Gav." I whisper, and then shake my head slowly, "I don’t want you to go."

"It’s not something we can control."

"What about you?" I ask, trying not to focus on that subject so much, "Are you happy that we met?"

"Yeah." a looks deep in thought as he speaks, "I may not be any good for you. But you’re definitely good for me. You’ve helped me a lot, Michael. More than you know."

I think of all the things that have happened because of my influence on him. Gavin got to meet everybody at RoosterTeeth, and he became close friends with all of them. He even got a job there along side me. He stood up to his parents and refused to give in to their demands.

"Look." I reach into my pants pocket and pull something out. "I got us something."

"What is it?" he watches my closed fist.

"We always make jokes about being married, and beings husbands and shit. And it’s not fair that it’s only ever going to be a joke. I’m not asking you to marry me. But think of this as a  _promise ring_ …” I grin, “But less gay.”

He smiles, and I open my hand to reveal two necklaces. They’ve both got Minecraft pendants on them. One is a square creeper face and the other is the diamond.

"The diamonds mine, and the creeper is yours. I thought it was fitting since you were wearing a creeper shirt when we first met, and our first  _adventure_ consisted of finding Rosie’s creeper drawing.” I explain.

He lets out a laugh, “I creeped my way right into your heart, Michael!”

"That you did." I chuckle, and put the necklace around his neck, and then put my own on.

"I love it. Team Nice Dynamite." He references our team name from one of the Minecraft Let’s Plays he was in.

"You better love it. I paid forty bucks for the two of those." and I’m about to say more, but he begins coughing violently into his hand.

I’m not able to register any emotion besides panic and worry, and I’m only able to say “Gavin…Gavin!” as I reach up to rub his arm comfortingly.

"I’m okay, Michael." But I know that he’s not, because he wipes his hand on his jeans, and the red smear tells me that he was coughing up blood. He doesn’t want me to ask about it or pay attention to it because he begins talking. "I used to be okay with dying. But now that you’re here…helping me through all of this…I’ve never wanted to live more in my entire life."

I can’t bring myself to respond, and just look down to avoid his serious gaze. He’s a lot emotionally stronger than I am.

"So when I  _do_ die, I want you to be okay. Go actually get married and have babies and do all of that other cheesy stuff that Jack Dawson told Rose to do at the end of Titanic.” I let out a weak laugh at that, and I didn’t even realize that I’m crying until I feel his thumb brushing a tear away.

I look up at him to see that he has tears streaming down his face too. I’ve never seen Gavin cry before, and it sends a sharp pain of guilt to my stomach.

"…But you  _might not_  die.” I whisper.

He smirks and moves back so that he’s leaning against the wall. “Just a precaution.” he murmurs, and rests his head against my shoulder again.

"I love you, Michael." he whispers.

The sentence makes me cringe internally because it reminds me of the harsh reality of this scene.

"I love you too, Gavin." I kiss the top of his head before resting my own against his and closing my eyes.

And the silence that fills the air is deafening.


	19. Chapter 19

There’s an odd nostalgic feeling you get when you realize that you are currently reliving a situation that you experienced five years ago.

Geoff has reluctantly agreed to let me go pick up his daughter Rosie from school  _again_. It’s only taken five years for him to trust me to do it again, and before I left he told me “If you break her arm again, I’ll break your face.” Thinking about it still makes me snicker.

So, in all of my life, this is the second time I’ve picked her up from school. And the only reason I’m doing it today is because Geoff (and everybody else) was super busy. Same reason as five year ago.

But despite the time leap, everything is virtually the same. I’m still not sure if I could count that as a good thing or a bad thing.

I still work at Achievement Hunter. I’m still driving the same shitty car. Living in the same apartment. I still have the same friends as I did five years ago, and I don’t have a boyfriend or girlfriend.

The route to the school is still familiar to me, as opposed to five years ago when I got a little lost on the way.

Even the weathers the same.

Maybe I’m just  _way_  to amused at the fact that when I was driving to go get Rosie, I was having such a horrible day. But looking back at it  _now_ , five years later, I consider it to be the best day of my life.

 

I drive up next to the school and see Rosie standing in the same place she was standing all those years ago. When she sees my car a grin spreads across her face and she waves at me excitedly while hopping up and down.

Her hair is a lot longer now. But then again, she’s not eight years old anymore. But just because she’s thirteen doesn’t mean that I won’t treat her like the kid she is.

She’s also wearing a dress that’s too fancy for school. It’s light pink and the flowy material goes down a little below her knees. It’s only spaghetti straps but she has a black cardigan on over it so that it looks more modest.

She wouldn’t have had time to go back to the house and get dressed, so she had to do it at school so that we could just pick her up and take her right away without any faffing around.

This entire day so far has been such a rush, but I’m throwing all of the stress and emotion behind it to the back of my mind. I’m not going to let anything effect me today. I just need to hold my head up high and get it over with.

Rosie and I got closer during the last few years, and bonded over our mutual love for Gavin. He and I would take her out for ice-cream all of the time and take her to movies. I miss doing that.

She climbs into the back seat and puts her bookbag down at her feet. “Hey, Rosie!” I greet her, looking through the rear view mirror.

"Hey, Mikey!" she grins, while jumping into the backseat.

"I told you to stop calling me that." I grin at the nickname regardless of my annoyance. Even when Rosie was younger she didn’t call me Mikey all that often, but now she does it just to bug me.

"You know you love it." She smirks, "Nice suit."

I let out a groan at the reminder of the suit I’m wearing. Just remembering that I’m wearing a stuffy black tux and tie makes me feel ten times warmer than I did before.

"I hate it so much. It’s way too hot to wear suits." I grumble, pulling the fabric away from my body a little so that it doesn’t stick. I’m sweating like crazy in this stupid thing. I love living in Austin, but sometimes the weather is incredibly inconvenient.

I can’t fathom why it’s so important to get dressed up for these things. Just hearing that I have to go to a fancy dinner, a wedding, or a funeral pisses me off because it’s social protocol to wear bullshit like this. Why can’t we just wear whatever the hell we want.

Maybe I’m just taking out my bad mood on the clothing.

"I don’t know how I wore dresses all the time when I was younger. They’re so uncomfortable." She complains.

"It’s only for a few hours." Hopefully we can put up with uncomfortable clothing in that short amount of time.

She’s quiet for a little while, “Can you believe that it’s  _today_? It seems like it happened just yesterday.”

I scoff, “That’s probably because it only happened three days ago.”

"…Think you’re gonna cry?"

"Nah. I think I’m past the emotional bullshit part of it." I respond. And it’s mainly true. I can’t imagine myself crying today, and I plan on just swallowing down any emotions like that.

The sooner we get this over with the better.

"I’ll probably cry." she murmurs.

"Gavin wouldn’t like that."

"I know, but… I just can’t help it. Talking about it right now just makes me want to cry. I always cry during these things." I look at her in the rear view mirror and begin to chuckle at her emotional outburst.

"Just calm down. Treat it like it’s all one big joke. That’s the only way I’m going to get through today."

"Gavin wouldn’t like that." she throws my own words back at me, and I see the smirk on her face.

"Gavin can go fuck himself." I grin.

She laughs at that and then leans forward so that she’s resting between the two front seats, “Did he tag along just to sleep in the car the entire time?”

I snicker, and look over at the man next to me.

Gavin’s completely passed out in the front passenger seat. His own black suit is slightly rumpled due to the amount of moving he’s doing in his sleep. Rosie’s fingers messing with his hair doesn’t seem to bother him much. Although I see his eyes move a little from the disturbance, but he doesn’t fully wake up.

He begged me to take him with me to pick up Rosie, but he fell asleep within the first few minutes of the drive.

"He was desperate to tag along, but he’s still hungover from the party last night that your dad threw us. Poor boy is all beat out."

Geoff had the amazing idea to throw us a party. It basically just involved  _lots_ of drinking and loud music. Gavin got totally plastered, and even though I probably got equally as drunk, only one of us woke up with a hangover this morning.

She giggles and continues to ruffle her hands through his naturally messy hair. “Gavin…” She murmurs softly, trying to wake him up. “Gavvy, wake up…”

"Wake up, idiot." I reach over and shove his face harshly so that he bumps his head into the window. He wakes up instantaneously, and looks around with startled confusion until he realizes what happened. He groans and grips his head in pain.

I’m obviously very kind to my fiancé.

"Michael!" He whines loudly, while gripping his head in pain. Rosie and I both laugh loudly.

"That’s what you get for drinking so much the night before our wedding. I would think you’d have more sense." I grin.

He recovers easily and turns to smirk at me, “You obviously don’t know me very well then, Michael.”

"You excited about today, Gavvy?" Rosie questions.

Gavin shrugs, “I suppose.”

Rosie lets out a loud groan, “Are you two serious!? It’s your freakin’  _wedding day_! Show some enthusiasm!”

Gavin and I look at each other with equal looks of nonchalance.

"To be honest, Rosie. We don’t really give two shits."

The only reason we’re actually going through the trouble of having a  _wedding_ is because all of the girls at the office begged us too. Just going and signing a piece of paper at town hall would have been good enough for us. But  _no_ of course not, we  _have_  to have some kind of event. The entire thing is like one big annoying headache.

We were lucky enough to convince them to just have a small get together with the people from RoosterTeeth, our friends from the hospital, and my parents. I gave Gavin invitations that were for his parents, and told him that it was totally up to him if he mailed them or not. Though I’m still not sure if he went through with it.

We’ve been through too much to care about wedding crap. We definitely don’t want to have some huge extravagant wedding that we invite everybody in the world to. Things like flower arrangements, bridesmaid dresses, and wedding planners are all completely irrelevant to us.

All of the guys are wearing suits, and we told all of the girls to wear any colour of dress they want. The fact that there’s literally no colour coordination involved in this makes Gavin really giddy. For some reason he thinks it’s exciting to have a big variety of dresses in one place.

Hence why Rosie is wearing just a simple dress and a cardigan. Griffon wanted to do her hair all fancy-like before the wedding, but Gavin insisted on her keeping it in two simple ponytails. He’s always loved Rosie’s ponytails.

"It’s a ceremony to prove your love for one another." Rosie smiles. She’s obviously one of those kids that dreams about getting married and having a beautiful wedding like a princess.

Gavin and I look at each other and grin, then instantly make gagging noises at the exact same time. Mainly just to annoy her.

Rosie smacks us both lightly on the side of the head. She’s a thirteen year old girl and she’s taking our wedding more seriously than we are. “You guys are mean. Didn’t you dream of having some kind of beautiful fairy tail wedding when you were younger?”

I shrug, “Not since I found out I was into dudes.”

Gavin laughs, “I didn’t plan on living long enough to get married.”

She leans back in her seat, while crossing her arms across her chest. “You guys are such downers.” she scowls.

Gavin looks at me and judging by the smirk on his face I know he’s about to say something stupid.

"Okay! Let’s be all mushy and romantic." he states. I see Rosie quirk an eyebrow in the rear-view mirror, "Michael Jones, you are my everything. You’re like the  _explosion_  to my  _creeper_!”

I hold back a snicker, and then in an equally dramatic tone I say, “Oh, Gavin Free, you’re like the  _nice_  to my  _dynamite_!”

I feel Rosie kick the backs of our seats, “No! Be serious! Say something nice to one another.”

"Ros-" I begin.

“ _Now_.”

"Holy shit." I murmur, and look at her little face to see the death glares she’s sending our way. The kid’s both stubborn and threatening. Not a good combination. I look to Gavin to see that he’s got his eyebrows raised in amusement and fear.

"Uh…Michael, you are seriously the most amazing person I’ve ever met in my entire life. I can’t imagine what my life would be like right now if we have never met. Honestly, I’d probably be six feet under. I’ve never loved anybody more than I love you, and you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. There, does that suffice?" he turns away from looking me right in the eye to look at Rosie.

The entire speech was said in a hesitant and unsure tone, but only because he was trying to sort out the thoughts in his brain to make sentences that make sense. Gavin was never one for coming up with serious declarations at the top of his head. But watching him stutter and pause through it makes me smile.

She gives a curt nod and then looks to me, “Yes. Now you.”

I’m struck with confusion for a few seconds, but words come tumbling out of my mouth regardless. “Uh, Gavin…. Ever since I first saw you in the hospital, I knew that you were the worlds biggest prick alive, and that you would do nothing but torment me endlessly. And now that we’re getting married, I know that I’m stuck with that for the rest of my life. But I wouldn’t have it any other way because I love you more than anything else in the world.” I don’t stutter as much as Gavin did, but getting put on the spot like that makes me just as unsure of my words. I don’t want to accidentally say something bad.

Maybe we both just suck at coming up with cheesy declarations of love on the spot. But Rosie seems to approve regardless, so that’s good enough for us.

"Good. You both get an A plus." she smirks.

"Aww, Michael, we’re so cute." Gavin grins at me.

I only just realize that we’re still parked in front of Rosie’s elementary school. I haven’t turned the car back on since we got here, and the fact that we might even be late to our own wedding has completely slipped my mind.

I finally turn the car on and continue to drive out of the parking lot. It’s completely deserted by now considering the fact that we’ve been sat here for quite a lot of time.

"You guys should have wrote that down so that you could say it as vows." Rosie says.

I can see Gavin’s panicked face from the corner of my eye, “Are we having personal vows? Was I supposed to prepare something?”

I just laugh at him, “I hope not, because I don’t have anything prepared either.”

"I’ve never seen two people care less about getting married." she states, still annoyed.

"What are you talking about?" I question.

"Yeah! We’re happy to get married. It’s just the wedding part we don’t care for. It’s a load of bullocks."

"But weddings are so cute and romantic!" she argues.

"Rosie, we only got engaged  _three days_  ago. We’re not cute and romantic type people.” I point out. I attempt to keep all of my focus on the road, but seeing Gavin’s facial expressions out of the corner of my eye makes me want to turn to look at him.

"What are you on about? We’re plenty cute and romantic."

"No we aren’t."

"I’ll prove it." he pauses for a few seconds to think of an example. I take a quick glance at him to see him deep in thought, straining himself to think of something.

"Don’t hurt yourself."

"I got it!" he yells suddenly, a huge grin forming on his face.

"This oughta be good."

"You and I got dressed this morning at two different places. I was at Geoff’s, and you were at Ray’s. We didn’t see each other until after we were both in our suits."

"Yeah, and?" I question. Hopefully there’s a point to this story.

"I’m wearing my creeper necklace, and I’m willing to bet five hundred dollars that you’re wearing your diamond." he proves it by pulling the necklace out from under his suit, and then showing off the green creeper pendant.

Goddammit. He’s right. I don’t even remember making the decision to wear it, I just put it on out of habit.

"That doesn’t count. We  _always_ wear our necklaces.” I scowl.

"Yeah! And that’s really cute and romantic!"

"Fuck you."

I hate when Gavin’s right.

He just throws his head back and laughs at my annoyed response. Gavin’s used to me getting frustrated with him for being right. Thankfully he isn’t right very often.

A loud squeal makes me jump in my seat, and I almost veer us off of the road for a second. I’m somehow able to get control again, but the panic still causes me to stop the car entirely. Luckily there are no other cars on this road.

I know the voice is Rosie’s, and I quickly glance up at the rear view mirror to look at her.

There’s a huge and excited smile spread across her face as she looks at something outside of the window. Relief and annoyance both wash through me at the fact that she’s not in danger.

"What the hell, Rosie!" I yell, but she doesn’t seem to bothered by it, and just continues to stare.

"Michael! Can we go to the playground!?" she shouts.

"Wha…The playground? Are you serious?" I state in utter disbelief. This entire trip has been like one intense round of dejavu.

Gavin gasps excitedly and he’s looking out his own window at the playground. The exact same playground I took Rosie to five years ago.

"Oh, please, Michael! Let’s go! It’ll be fun!" Gavin begs.

"How old are you two again?" I question them. Aren’t playgrounds just for kids? Thirteen year old girls shouldn’t want to go to playground. Neither should thirty year old men.

"Please, Michael!"

"No! Last time I went to this playground Rosie almost broke her arm! If that happens again, Geoff will  _kill_  me.”

"I’ll be super careful this time!" she begs.

"We’re wearing suits and dresses. We can’t just go play at a messy playground! We’ll get all dirty!" I point out. I’m just desperately grasping at straws, trying to throw around good reasons to not go.

"We’ll be  _super_  careful, Michael!” Gavin cries.

I can’t believe that every time I pick up Rosie from school, I’m begged to go to the playground. That was five years ago! I guess some things never change. But the fact that my soon to be husband is also crying to go, is something that I hope _does_ change.

"Pretty please!"

"We won’t be long!"

"Just for a few minutes!"

"It’s our wedding day, Michael! You  _have_  to let us go to the playground!”

"It’ll be so much fun!"

"We’ll do anything!"

They continue to whine and beg while looking out of their windows longingly at the playground equipment. There’s nobody there, so the entire place looks empty and lonely. It’s just screaming for children to come play on it.

The place looks the exact same as it did five years ago.

I’ve never seen two people so desperate to run and climb on a bunch of old rusty play equipment. They’re both bouncing anxiously in their seats and their eyes are wide and filled with hope. The prospect of running around and playing is too great to ignore for them.

We already wasted enough time sitting in the parking lot of Rosie’s school, and we’re probably already late.

But do Gavin and I really care if we’re late for our own wedding? Sure, Geoff, Griffon, Barbara, and everybody else will bitch at us about it for a while. But it’s not like they can stay mad at us. It’s our fuckin’ wedding day.

Besides, Rosie’s been cooped up in school all day, and Gavin’s been miserable due to his hangover and being forced to get pictures with people. They deserve to get a little fresh air and have a bit of fun.

It couldn’t hurt to let them play for a  _little_  while.

"…Jesus fucking Christ,  _fine_!” As soon as the words leave my mouth, the two of them have bolted from the car. They run as fast as they can, racing to get to the playground.

Even though I’m annoyed, I can’t help but snicker when I watch them cheer happily from a distance.

I get out of the car, and go around to shut their doors, which they left wide open in the midst of their excitement. It’s just a playground. You’d think these two had never been to one before.

I begin to walk at a normal pace to the jungle-jim in the middle of the park. It’s not very far away, but the two of them are already climbing all over it by the time I’m halfway there.

I look up to see Gavin waving his arms crazily from the highest point, waving to me like a crazy person. I can’t help but grin as I roll my eyes at his childish antics.

"You two be careful! Don’t break any limbs! And don’t get your clothes dirty!" I scold them, trying to keep serious. I feel like I’m a mother hen trying to keep control of her chicks.

I hear Rosie’s laughter echoing as she goes down the tube slide, and Gavin’s accented and excited voice screaming about how fun this is. The only sound is their feet moving around on the rocky terrain, and their giggling.

I decide to not join in on their fun. If I did, then we’d probably spend the rest of the day here instead of going to the wedding. So instead I walk around the playground equipment to watch them from the ground. There’s a lot of bridges, stairs, poles, and slides everywhere.

 

And when I hear Gavin yell, “Hey, Michael, look at me!” my smile softens and I come to a realization.

Life is pretty hectic when it comes to Gavin Free. He can turn your entire world into a sandstorm of stress and confusion. But I’m willing to put up with that if it means getting to see him act like an idiot and make dumb jokes just to make everybody else around him feel better.

The thoughts of Gavin suffering in a hospital bed by himself still haunt me to this day. His parents pushing him around and treating him like dirt. Trying to comfort him as he’d throw up on a regular basis due to chemo. Listening to him laugh through the intense pain he’d feel. Watching him entertain the kids from the Children’s Ward with stories and jokes from his bed when he was too sick to move from it.

And it’s only now that I realize that Gavin really is the best thing to ever happen to me.

He’s the strongest person I know, and he’s willing to do anything to help other people through their own pain.

If anybody in this world deserves happiness, then it’s Gavin Free.

And I’ve never felt more lucky than to be able to call him mine.

"Look at me!" he yells once again. I turn to see him hanging upside down off the monkey bars. His hands flailing wildly in the air below him. Instead of telling him to be careful and to get down before he breaks his neck, I walk over to him and hold his upside down face in my hands.

His expression turns to concern when he sees my serious one. “Are you okay, Michael?”

I give him a crooked smile, and murmur, “I just love you so much, Gavin.”

That huge dopey grin that I fell in love with spreads across his face once again, “I love you too, Michael.”

I press my lips to his, and even though it’s weird and uncomfortable due to the fact that he’s hanging upside down, I love it.

And I love  _him_.


End file.
